AMG confirms all-new C53 in product ‘firework’

Mercedes-AMG CEO Michael Schiebe has confirmed that the C-Class will earn the 3.0-litre mild-hybrid straight six from the CLE – the M256, to those who know your M156 from your M157 – to create a niche-filling C53. In a roundtable interview with PH, he said the coupe equivalent had been a success: “Our customers love this engine very much.” Which sounds eminently believable, given how fond we were of long-term exposure to the two-door. Schiebe added that the turbocharged engine would be “even more emotional than it used to be.”

Alongside the existing C43 and C63, having a C53 also would make for an awful lot of C-Class AMG options. But the 2.0-litre cars aren’t long for this world, either as standard combustion models or plug-in hybrids, because they can’t meet Euro 7 standards. In truth, a 210hp-per-litre 2.0-litre turbo has done well to make it this far, and powering the smaller AMGs like the A-Class the M139 will be very fondly remembered. But as a replacement for the V8 in the C-Class it probably won’t enjoy quite the same legacy. Which is putting it politely. 

Still, AMG has seen sense eventually, and the promise of some straight-six swagger back in a C-Class (we’re going to assume both saloon and estate) is welcome. In the CLE, the 3.0-litre is 449hp strong, so expect a similar output for this new ‘53. Not quite to the 530hp of the M3, sure, but then hopefully not as expensive either. The same nine-speed auto and 4Matic all-wheel drive as the coupe will carry over. According to the boss, exterior design is the number one reason customers opt for an AMG over an alternative, so don’t be surprised if the new saloon packs the same sort of visual punch as the CLE.

The introduction of a C53 is part of a renewed commitment to petrol engines from AMG; Schiebe pointed to the new M177 Evo, the flat-plane crank 4.0-litre V8 that’s Euro7 safe and coming to the Mythos CLE, as additional proof of that. “We want to continue our combustion engine history and success”, he added. So expect to see more of that M256, in both mild hybrid and plug-in forms, going forward, alongside the V8, in what was called a “product firework”. So that means more Mythos special edition “brand shapers”, more SUVs (because people love them, they’re more than 50 per cent of AMG sales), more of everything basically. Even Black Series cars, in fact, which Schiebe suggested will “definitely live on in the future.” Excellent. If you thought the AMG portfolio was extensive already, you ain’t seen nothing yet. 

That includes EVs as well. The upcoming CLA AMG will be an “awesome, emotional car”, and the range of electric cars built on the AMG EA platform – the GT XX and equivalent SUV – will also now include a coupe variant of the latter. Because you just know there’ll be a Cayenne Electric Coupe before the year is out, so Mercedes will need a rival car. Schiebe described the AMG approach as “all-in” on electric, “in parallel with the ICE portfolio.” 

So plenty to look forward to from Affalterbach in the coming months and years, which perhaps hasn’t exactly been the case in recent times. The V8 isn’t going to be limited only to Mythos cars, AMG EVs will “feel like fast cars” (not just accelerate quickly), and there’s more coming on that incredible Track Sport car soon. In the meantime, who’s for money off a CLE 53?