The Death Of AMG As We Know It Has Been Confirmed And It's Coming To Take Our V8s
If you’re looking for a profitable new startup idea, make it AMG-branded black armbands: the company has admitted that it will have to ‘reinvent’ itself when it comes to developing faster, more aggressive versions of future Mercedes-Benz electric cars.
It’s confirmation that the wonderful AMG as we know it is in its twilight years. It can see its own end just as it can see the new beginning that will come afterwards, but it can’t successfully market itself as both a purveyor of thunderous V8s and a peddler of near-silent high-power electric motors. The two don’t mesh when they’re not under the same body. The part of AMG that can do things with a V8 that no one else can will have to die in order to give birth to its new and very different electric-era persona.
AMG’s total integration into the Mercedes design process means they can ensure from day one that each new model has what it takes to then be developed into an AMG variant if needed. And that, said Drummond Jacoy, Mercedes-AMG’s Director of Vehicle Development, in an interview with Autocar, is going on right now.
“As soon as Mercedes starts a car, we’ll look at what we can do. We’ll have to reinvent ourselves there (with electric cars), obviously, because the sound of a V8 is not going to be there if it’s a pure-electric vehicle. It’s not starting from scratch, but we’re going to have to look at what the AMG story is with an electric vehicle. But we’re working on that.”
AMG is still developing incredible hybrids like the Project One hypercar, but using the 2013 Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive as an example, Jacoy points to a future that’s more 12v than V12.
“It’s obvious we’re not going to make the world happy with V8s for the next 200 years, and AMG has shown in the past, with the electric SLS years ago, that it has capabilities in all-electric drive. That was a very impressive vehicle for its time and we’ve nurtured that technology and the learning we have from hybrid vehicles.”
We’d beg to differ on the V8s front, Mr Jacoy, and if you can just keep making at least one AMG version, we’ll forgive you the rest…
Via: Autocar
Comments
I thought I could trust you AMG
“It’s obvious we’re not going to make the world happy with V8s for the next 200 years”. Maybe it’s time to come to terms with reality.
Same here
And i thought that loosing the ‘6.3’ v8 was the worst that could happen
Thank god for Jaguar then !!!
Only one O in losing. But then again the M156 was the best amg v8
Stop overreacting CarThrottle. Yes, it is painful that AMG won’t be making V8s but that doesn’t mean it’s dying. If downsizing and hybridization meant it were dying then Cadillac and Rolls-Royce died in the 1930s as they don’t make V16s no more. We all have to accept that the world is changing and so is the technology and if we want to move forward and have more power then we need make some sacrifices
If it doesn’t make v8s it’s pretty much dead to all of us
thank you. i’d rather have the brands focus on making cool fun electric and hybrids cars now then to keep focussing on the n/a v8’s and have nothing when we all have to go electric.
Oh well.
They’re killing off the only reason why I prefer Mercedes over BMW and Audi
This post, sad over the death of AMG that’s fell victim to overzealous emissions regulations, posted not long after downing Trump for easing up on realistic emissions standards in order to keep this kinda stuff from happening… but of course because it’s America, it’s wrong
This is so depressing
Brabus must be very happy
I hope they keep doing what they do…or maybe even offer an AMG replacement alongside their monsters
It sucks but it’s not like I could ever afford an AMG anyways lol
I could see that coming tbh
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO