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Welcome to 2022. Automakers are electrifying everything and classic performance offerings that used to sound like an orchestra of internal combustion don’t anymore. Case-in-point is the new C63 AMG, or as Mercedes calls it, the 2024 Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance. It doesn’t sound like much of anything. Don’t get me wrong—cars that make great noises still exist, but they’re not exactly common, and this is not one of them.
That’s because the new C63 AMG has a four-cylinder engine. It’s also a hybrid, but electric motors and batteries aren’t muffling the exhaust, that would be the turbocharger. It means that 469 of the car’s 671 horsepower come from the tiny boosted 2.0-liter. It’s an amazing feat, but I just wish it would sing its own praises a little more.
Take a listen for yourself:
Let’s be nice. It’s a subtle exhaust. And to be honest, there’s a lot about the car to like already. The technology going on is just cool. An internal combustion engine working together with electric motors, batteries, and forced induction is a future worthy of being excited about, but it’s just not really adding up from an emotional, auditory perspective here. When I say “here,” I will also note: This is an exhaust clip from a promotional video of what is likely a European model of the C63 AMG. Could it sound better when it arrives in the United States? I would say that’s possible. The European Corvette Z06 is probably going to sound a little worse than its American counterpart because of the extra emissions equipment it has to lug around, for example.
Putting a four-cylinder engine in a car with a “63” on the back might not have been Mercedes’ first choice, as the model had become well-known for its use of V8s. The C63 AMG had a 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 as recently as 2015. Then it had a turbocharged 4.0-liter eight-cylinder until last year. Now, all of a sudden, the engine is half as big and has half as many cylinders. It’s a big downsize to make in a short amount of time, but I get it. Emissions have to get better. I even like hybrid performance cars.
But this… an AMG C63 shouldn’t sound like this.
Email the author at peter@thedrive.com
