German performance major Mercedes-AMG could deliver a high-performance hybrid six-in-line performance brute as early as next year.
Mercedes-AMG are believed to be working on a high-performance 48-volt in-line six-cylinder hybrid powertrain that will step in as early as next year, sporting a new ’53’ badge. Australian website Redbook carried news informing of the new badge, and its evolution over the newly-introduced S 500. The news has since spread like wildfire online.
The new ‘500’ badged M256 in-line six-cylinder engine is based on the new modular family, with cylinders using an 83-mm bore and 92-mm stroke, for a unitary capacity of 497.78 cc. The in-line six engine made its début in the facelifted S-Class, producing 435 PS and 520 Nm. The new 500 is positioned above the ‘450’ which makes 367 PS and 500 Nm; the latter of which is set to replace the ‘400’, and perhaps even the AMG ’43’ models.
The big change in the AMG 53 engine will be the 48-volt electrical system and hybrid treatment. There will be an integrated starter alternator/generator, and electric auxiliary compressor – which can reach 70,000 rpm in 0.3 of a second, together boosting performance by 10-15 kW (13-20 PS) and eliminating turbo-lag.
With the electric compressor working in tandem with the turbo set-up, the combined system output is estimated at 370 kW (320 kW or 435 PS from the combustion engine, and 50 kW, or 68 PS, from the e-motor). That’s 503 PS, with a peak torque expected to be around 700 Nm. That would make the 53 far more powerful than the existing 367-PS/520-Nm 3.0-litre V6 in the AMG 43 cars, and just as potent as the existing M177 BiTurbo 4.0-litre V8, which is available with 476 PS and 510 PS in the C 63 and C 63 S respectively.
The Mercedes-AMG 53 will reportedly make its début at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November this year, in the CLS 53 and the AMG E 53 Coupé, both of which should arrive in 2018. Given the output, the AMG GT could well see the straight-six under its long bonnet as well. We’ll just have to wait and see how this pans out.
Story: Jim Gorde
