Rumours of the V8’s death are greatly exaggerated

Mercedes-AMG is perhaps best known for its thumping V8 road cars; from the C63 (at least previous versions) to the GT coupe, it’s a brand synonymous with potent eight-cylinder engines, despite offering more models with downsized powertrains.

Though a number of its vehicles – like the now four-cylinder C63 – have moved away from V8 engines, the brand’s boss has told Motor1 it’s developing a new-generation beating heart, expected to carry it through to next decade.

“Since we are just in the development of a new V8, there is not a natural end date that we have defined,” Michael Schiebe said when asked by Motor1 when Mercedes-AMG could wind down V8 production.

“We keep on going as long as we see that there is customer demand, and especially, you know, when it comes to the US, for example, we see that there are still customers that just want the V8, a pure V8. And so this is why we are investing in the technology.”

In Europe, new petrol and diesel passenger vehicles will be banned from showrooms by 2035, through regulations requiring zero tailpipe emissions. While this could spell the end of the AMG V8 there, other markets without these restrictions will allow the engines to live on.

“There is, at the moment, a natural ending in Europe,” Schiebe added.

“In the US, in the overseas market, where there is no certain end date, I’m pretty confident that we will carry them [for] a couple of years, beginning of the [20]30s, middle of the [20]30s.”

“It wouldn’t make any sense to just develop it for the US. And if you develop a new V-8 at the moment, of course, it has to comply with EU 7 (emissions regulations), because it’s coming at the end of 2027 and 2028 so you have to fulfill the requirements.”

It’s not yet known what the new V8 engine will power, or other technical specifications such as its displacement or turbocharger configuration.

The current AMG V8 found in most of its hot models is a twin-turbo 4.0-litre unit, available with cross- or flat-plane crankshafts, depending on the vehicle.

Despite its love for V8s, Mercedes revealed the Concept AMG GT XX overnight, with the circa-745kW electric vehicle described by one board member to Schiebe as “the best V8 we have ever developed”.