- We spoke with AMG boss Michael Schiebe about the upcoming AMG.EA architecture that will soon underpin two high-performance EVs.
- Schiebe said AMG wants the EVs to deliver the same level of feedback as its gas-powered cars, pointing to sound and repeatable performance as key factors.
- He also reiterated that the V-8 engine will live on at AMG and will not necessarily need to be hybridized.
While Mercedes already attached the AMG name to potent versions of its existing electric cars, such as the Mercedes-AMG EQS53 sedan, the German performance brand will begin a more seismic shift when the dedicated AMG.EA electric architecture arrives next year. The AMG.EA platform will underpin two high-performance EVs, with a low-slung sedan due in 2026, shortly followed by an SUV. We spoke with AMG boss Michael Schiebe at the Miami Grand Prix to learn how the performance brand will ensure its EVs maintain the same exhilarating experience as its gas-powered cars.AMG Goes Electric”We said when we come to the market with our first high-performance electric car, it needs to be a real high-performance car,” Schiebe explained. “I always say it needs to be an AMG first and an EV second.”Mercedes-BenzThe first car on the AMG.EA platform will be a high-performance sedan arriving in 2026.There isn’t much known just yet about the AMG.EA platform, other than its use of high-voltage batteries for rapid recharging and lightweight, albeit power-dense, axial-flux motors. But Schiebe claims the platform will create EVs that are “not comparable to all the electric cars that you have in the market right now” and that will be “playing with all of your senses.” Schiebe declined to specify exactly how AMG will make the electric sedan engaging to drive, but he gave a few clues. “It’s the sound, it’s the feedback that you get from the car,” he noted. “One thing that is of high importance to us is continuous performance. Most electric cars on the market, they are capable of accelerating very fast. You can do that once, maybe you can do it twice, but if you try to repeat that, most of them quickly lose steam.”The AMG.EA platform will focus on delivering repeatable performance, and the German brand has its eye on the ultimate measuring stick—the iconic Nürburgring race track. “If you drive a high-performance [gas-powered] AMG car, you can take the car on the Nordschleife, and you’re accelerating, braking, accelerating, braking, accelerating, braking,” Schiebe said. “This is what the AMG.EA needs to deliver.”Mercedes-AMGThe electric AMG sedan will take inspiration from the 2022 Vision AMG concept.We also asked Schiebe if AMG is considering fake shifts for its electric performance cars in a similar manner to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N’s “N e-Shift” mode. Schiebe wouldn’t confirm anything, but he said the brand wouldn’t write off the idea and emphasized that its EVs will retain the same degree of feedback as its gas-powered cars. He concluded with a promising statement. “We just recently had some U.S. dealers actually given the chance to drive some of those cars, and when they got out of the car, all of them were smiling,” Schiebe said. “They said that this is completely changing what they thought about electric cars.”The V-8 Is Not Dead YetDespite plans for AMG-specific EVs, Schiebe also reiterated that the V-8 engine will live on. “We have just launched the GT [coupe] last year,” he said. “So there is some years to come with the V-8.” While Schiebe noted Europe’s plan to ban combustion engines in new cars in 2035, he pointed out that the United States doesn’t have the same mandate and said there isn’t a specific end date for eight-cylinder engines. We previously theorized that the AMG.EA-based sedan would spell the end for the AMG GT 4-Door model, but Mercedes’ commitment to the V-8 means that isn’t necessarily the case. “Let’s see how long we continue with a GT 4-Door,” he said. “Maybe there is a successor, but I don’t want to speculate about that.” Regardless, it seems the current GT 4-Door will continue alongside the EV sedan for the foreseeable future.Mercedes-AMGThe gas-powered AMG GT 4-Door could live for longer than previously thought.AMG will obviously need to update its V-8 in the coming years to comply with tighter regulations, particularly in Europe. But Schiebe also sees room for even more performance from its eight-cylinder engines, which could see them employed in new places in the AMG family. “We are in the midst of developing our next generation of the V-8,” he said. “And I see a lot of positions within our existing portfolio, or maybe even new ones, where we could actually imagine to have a V-8.” Could this mean a return for the V-8 in the C63 sports sedan? Schiebe wouldn’t confirm, but we have our fingers crossed.When Mercedes confirmed a next-generation V-8 engine earlier this year, it was described as a “high-tech electrified” powertrain. “I see there is a lot of technological advancement coming in the future,” Schiebe said. Interestingly, however, he also said “I don’t say that we necessarily need to go that far on hybridization,” noting that drivers who like to take their cars on track prefer something like the pure-gas GT63 Pro instead of the torqueier-but-heavier GT63 S E Performance hybrid.Regardless of whether it will feature electric assistance or not, the continued existence of V-8s at Mercedes comes down to one key factor: the customers. “We see there is still the demand,” Schiebe explained. “And my target is to fill customers’ dreams.”More on Mercedes-AMGCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
Source: caranddriver.com
