Peace In Our Time: AMG Ends Horsepower Wars

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Always be suspicious of peace announcements coming from Munich. Oh, wait… make that Stuttgart. I mean Großaspach. Anyway, AMG’s boss has been wondering where all the hydrocarbons have gone (long time passing). Volker Mornhinweg tells Autocar that “the horsepower war is over.” Luckily, it turns out that there are more ways to massively inflate a Mercedes price tag than just dialing up the horsepower. The new emphasis for AMG’s tuning efforts: weight saving, engine optimisation and alternative technologies. For example the new E63 AMG ( with “only” 550hp) will offer an optional, efficiency-improving manual wet-clutch gearbox. That’s the unit first seen on the SL63. Woo. Hoo. AMG also hints that smaller diesel, hybrid and four-cylinder models could be in the cards. But don’t call it eco-appeasement; the move may be more about finding some branding lebensraum. Daimler’s anschluss with Aston Martin, the emergence of AMG’s Black series and the persistence of Maybach are simply pushing AMG’s mainstream offerings in a less power-crazed (and carbon-intensive) direction.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Psarhjinian Psarhjinian on Jan 14, 2009

    There's a limit to the amount of power you can have a rear-drive luxury car put out without destroying tires and/or giving the traction control system a conniption at every intersection. AMG reached that point about two years ago, so this move isn't surprising. Any more power without serious, fundamental changes in how the car is built (Veyron) was going to make the next AMG SL-Class into a deathcar.

  • Anonymous Anonymous on Jan 14, 2009

    Chanberlain said, "Peace for our time". You can't make peace with nutty fascists as we are once a again learning. "My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is "peace for our time." Go home and get a nice quiet sleep" http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/peacetime.html

  • Anonymous Anonymous on Jan 14, 2009

    Chamberlain said, "Peace for our time" after he stopped WW2 from starting.

  • Mirko Reinhardt Mirko Reinhardt on Jan 15, 2009

    @TEXN3 : AMG has already done diesel. The AMG C30 CDi. It was the W203 C-class coupe, with AMG chassis and suspension tuning/upgrades similiar to the C32, and a worked-over turbodiesel. The C30 was available in all C-Class body styles. That diesel was the C270 inline five-cylinder stroked to 3.0 and with a big, big turbo. It was 5-speed auto only, and when the C320 V6 came out, it was just as fast, making the AMG diesel obsolete.

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