C63S AMG Soon Replaced By Six-Cylinder C53 Says AMG Boss

Most online banter around a new performance car relates to its appearance. Remember when fans worldwide hated the massive kidney grilles on the current M3/4? But few car’s powertrains have generated as much discussion as the W206 C63S. The massively hybridised turbocharged four-pot left fans of the brand and petrolheads at large shaking their heads as the performance halo lost half its cylinder count. There have been rumours circulating recently that a late rethink by AMG will see a V8 reintroduced into the C-AMG. But it has just been confirmed the C63S will soon be replaced by a six-cylinder C53.

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Official Word

AMG boss Michael Schiebe confirmed the news during an interview with leading automotive website Edmunds. Schiebe said AMG will be “replacing our four-cylinder” with the inline-six and that “the engine will also come to the C-Class. That means we will also have C53 in our portfolio. We’re taking the combustion engine from the CLE53. No hybrid engine — pure inline six-cylinder.”

Click here to check out the full history of the C-AMG from the very start.

Interestingly, it seems, on the face of it anyway, that AMG isn’t admitting defeat with the replacement of the high-tech turbocharged four. It seems legislation is to blame/thank for the change. “Under the regulations of EU7, it’s quite difficult to carry [the four-cylinder engine] into the future,” Schiebe said. “That’s why we will stop offering the M139 and in the midsize segment we will replace it with the inline six-cylinder.”

A New Look

The W206 C-class is due for its mid-life refresh later this year. As a result it would be an ideal time to introduce the new engine, and badge, into the line-up. The full hybridised inline-six delivers 430 kW/750N.m. But slotting that powertrain into the C53 would probably make it even quicker than the E53 (as we reviewed here). That would probably not be a good move on AMG’s part. As a reminder, the larger saloon can reel off the 0-100 km/h sprint in 3,8 seconds and tops out at 280 km/h.

Herr Schiebe has already stated that the six-cylinder C53 will use a similar engine to that found in the CLE53 coupe. The AMG-tuned M256M engine is a 3,0-litre unit that features turbocharging. As a result peak power is rated as 330 kW along with a maximum torque value of 600 N.m. That is considerably less than the current C63S’s 500 kW. Although, it must be noted that the C53 won’t have to carry a heavy battery pack or the electric drive motors.