AMG will usher in a new era of high-power, high-torque and fuel-efficient turbo-charged V8s tomorrow when it debuts is new Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG at the Geneva Motor Show. The motor is 25 percent more efficient than the company’s naturally aspirated 6.2-liter unit, all while delivering more power.
The regular version of the motor will deliver 544 horsepower and 586 pound-feet of torque. A more powerful variant will increase those figures to 571 hp and 660 lb-ft. Mercedes says the motor has been designed to fill in the low-rev hole the 6.2-liter, with peak torque available from 2000 to 4500 rpm in the “base” version and 2500 to 3750 rpm in more powerful guise.
The 2011 S63 will be the first car to use the new engine, but we expect the rest of the AMG lineup to follow. The cars will still be called “63â€, even though its displacement is nowhere near 6.3 liters.
Critically, its 6.2 mpg mileage improvement over the current engine lets it slip below the US gas guzzler tax limits, yet AMG claims the car is no faster than its predecessor, because it doesn’t need to be.
The new motor avoids many of the more modern tweaks, like variable compression turbo-chargers and, instead, uses one Garrett-Honeywell turbo per bank (running at up to 1.3 Bar of pressure), combined with a clever, in-house air-to-liquid intercooler capable of dropping air inlet temperatures by 90 degrees (c). It also runs incredibly high compression, with AMG claiming it runs at 10:1.
“We’ve gone for very good response and driveability with the biturbo,” AMG’s head of drivetrain development, Freddy Eichler, said.
“There’s no cross-flow in the turbos, like some, and they are not variable vane. They are just to our specifications and they work well.”
While the Geneva show car looks a little odd with its stickers and race numbers (not to mention Camel cigarette sponsorship), it was actually paying homage to one of AMG’s first race cars. The original 300 SEL 6.8 won the Nurburgring 24-Hour race and the S63 BiTurbo replicates it, right down to its sticker placement.
