2023 Mercedes-AMG C63 plug-in hybrid sampled

This famed performance division has delivered some of the most acclaimed V8 sedans in history, but now it has come up with a very different – and quicker – machine.

Mercedes-Benz’s C 63 E Performance is a new twist on a successful formula. Picture: Supplied.

It’s a fast corner, quickly taken, but the tyres of the C63 S E Performance whimper rather than squeal. Then, with the road straightening ahead, Jochen Hermann increases pressure on the accelerator pedal.

The classy rasp of the engine swells and we’re pressed hard into the front seats. From its quad exhaust pipes comes a sonic thump, like a muffled cannon shot, as the Mercedes-AMG shifts up a gear.

“The sound of the engine … of course it’s not a V8, but I think rather emotional,” says AMG’s chief technical officer, the man behind the wheel.

Hermann’s mission is to demonstrate that the new C63, the all-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid with a turbo four, due in Australia in mid 2023, is a much better car than the V8-powered model it replaces.

Mercedes-Benz AMG’s new C63 Hybrid dials up the horsepower. Picture: Supplied.

The venue for this executive-level ride-along is Mercedes-Benz’s new Immendingen proving ground. Once a tank-testing facility for the German army, the place is so vast it’s probably visible from space.

Heading to Immendingen’s racetrack-like handling circuit Hermann has driven the camouflaged C63 S E Performance mostly in electric mode. The AMG is quick yet serene.

There’s little noise from the electric motor built into its rear axle and the ride on its variable shock absorbers is silky smooth. It’s nothing like the loud, stiff and very successful C63 it replaces.

The electric motor and small but high-power battery pack also add a big kick to the new C63 S E Performance’s acceleration. The e-motor adds up to 150kW to the amazing 350kW of the electrically turbocharged 2.0-litre engine.

The Mercedes-Benz C 63 E Performance delivers serene motoring on the open road. Picture: Supplied.

In total, the new PHEV C63’s maximum power output is 125kW more than the old V8. It’s much faster, despite the weight added by its battery pack, e-motor and new all-wheel-drive system.

As well as electric E mode, the driver can choose Comfort for normal public road driving, or the sportier Sport and Sport+ modes. But Race mode is where you get the full power.

Hermann shows how it’s done. He turns the dial to Race and presses a button on the steering wheel to activate the Boost function.

“I now accelerate,” says the tech-exec as he pushes the pedal. “Still enough power, but I am limited to 50kW from the back.”

The Mercedes-Benz C 63 E Performance’s cabin is suitably up-market. Picture: Supplied.

Then he floors it fully. “If I go into kickdown mode, we will have an additional 100kW. Feel that? It’s like shifting gears.” Or, I think, like going to warp drive.

Hermann believes the C63 S E Performance’s interactive energy management tech will attract a new, younger customer than the old V8. “It’s more fun to drive,” he insists.

Though some V8-lovers may shun the new model, sticking with its signature engine apparently was never an option for AMG.

“What should we have done? Leave the V8 in and not do electrification?,” he asks. “No way.”

Originally published as 2023 Mercedes-AMG C63 plug-in hybrid sampled