Speaking at the Paris Motor Show in October last year, Mercedes-AMG boss, Tobias Moers, remarked that the 6.0-litre bi-turbo V12 used in the brand’s 600 and 65 range of models will die along with the current generation W222 S-class, due to ever tightening emissions regulations and fuel consumption requirement.
“So we are going to move the S65 out of our portfolio. The V8 is a pretty efficient engine. In combination with an electrified powertrain, it could be a longer lifecycle than what everybody thinks,” Moers told Australia’s goauto.com.au while referring to the now widely used 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8.
“Nobody in the industry is able to predict the V8 engine ends, say, in 2028 – that’s impossible. It is all about how clever are you as a company, to put the money in. And it should not be a bet – it should be a well-prepared strategy. I am not so confident with having a 10-year plan and strategy because the world we live in is too fast. So you have to adjust your strategy and your targets almost every year – half a year”.
In a rebuttal of Moers’ comments however, Mercedes-Benz R&D Head, Ola Kallenius, stated that the V12’s future is safe for now, but added that performance has replaced cylinder displacement as the main consumer requirement.
“What the customer wants is a level of performance. If you buy an AMG, depending on which one you get you, you’re expecting a certain performance experience, how we deliver that performance experience is less and less relevant for the customer,” Kallenius told caradvice.com.au at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“Let's not talk cylinders so much - the V8 will be there for many years to come. [But] we need to deliver a performance experience and that performance experience needs to be in the future with less CO2 and we will find the best way to deliver that”.
Based on speculation, it is likely that the V12 will eventually give way to a hybridised version of the aforementioned V8, as it is unlikely that further development will take place.
At the same event, Mercedes-Benz Chief Designer, Gordon Wagner, stated that the next generation SL, which in its current guise has been around since 2013, will take inspiration from the iconic 300SL, albeit without the inclusion of the fabled gullwing doors last seen on the SLS.
“Even though I have been 20 years in the company, I have never done an SL, except for the next one that will come which will be the closest to the nicest SL, which for me is the 300SL,” Wagner told the online publication.
Quizzed about styling of the eighth generation SL that is reportedly in development, and its closeness to the 300SL, Wagner merely stated that the newcomer will be brand new aesthetically and not simply a retro inspired take on the gullwing, adding that, “the future of the SL will be very, very bright”.
