Mercedes-Benz’s performance division has revealed a new bi-turbo V8 that produces more power with less fuel. By RICHARD BLACKBURN.
Mercedes-Benz’s renowned performance division AMG has unveiled a new twin-turbo V8 that produces more than double the power of a Ford Falcon yet uses the same amount of fuel.
The new 5.5-litre V8 will replace the normally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 that currently powers most of AMG’s express limousines, sports cars and soft-roaders.
It follows the recent industry trend towards producing more power more efficiently by employing smaller-capacity, turbocharged engines with the latest direct fuel injection technology.
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Geneva show car powered by new 400kW V8 pays homage to one of AMG’s first race cars.
..A standard stop-start system, which cuts engine power when the car stops in traffic, also reduces consumption.
The new engine puts out 400kW of power and 800Nm of torque, but uses just 10.5 litres of fuel per 100km – 25 per cent, or 4.0L/100km, less than the previous model. It will debut in Australia on the new S-Class-based coupe, the CL, in the fourth quarter of this year.
AMG says the engine will be even more efficient in lighter cars in the Mercedes range such as the C63 and E63, with fuel consumption likely to dip below 10L/100km. The engine will also be used on SUV variants.
The chairman of AMG, Volker Mornhinweg, says the new engine is “the perfect synthesis of dynamic power efficiency and the highest levels of efficiency”.
He says the company is adapting to the new emphasis on fuel efficiency and C02 emission reductions.
“Today AMG is facing a new era. We are reinventing ourselves while remaining true to our core brand values,” says Mornhinweg.
He says combining lower-displacement engines with direct injection and turbocharging has allowed AMG to meet its future emissions requirements for Europe and the United States. The car will also avoid the “gas guzzler” tax in the US.
The announcement of the new engine wasn’t all good news for Australian AMG fans. They will miss out on a high-performance version of the engine that puts out 425kW and 900Nm of torque.
The standard version of the new 5.5-litre AMG engine gets just 14kW more torque than the current 6.2-litre unit, but delivers a substantial 170Nm more torque. Critically, both power and torque are available much lower in the rev range, with peak power arriving at 5500rpm instead of 6800rpm and maximum torque available from 2000rpm to 4500rpm, compared to 5500rpm in the 6.2-litre.
The engine will propel the S-Class Coupe – which is changing its name from the CL-Class – from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds (or 4.4 seconds on the more powerful 425kW model).
Despite the change in engine size, Mercedes will stick with the ‘63’ nomenclature for its cars so the luxury coupe will be called the S63.
The new S63 also gets AMG’s seven-speed automatic transmission, which changes character at the press of a button. In manual and sports mode it holds gears longer and shifts 25 per cent quicker, while in ‘controlled efficiency’ mode it starts in second gear, shifts up as early as possible and uses the engine’s prodigious torque to keep the engine speed low and reduce consumption.
Other fuel-saving tricks include an intelligent generator management system, which recharges the battery with kinetic energy created when the car brakes. Mercedes says the system can save up to 0.2L/100km.
“We are justified in asserting that, with this drivetrain, AMG is offering a package that is unique in the premium class: sheer performance through power, torque and extremely sporty shifting characteristics on the one side, with the highest levels of efficiency through intelligent transmission control and state-of-the-art gasoline direct injection on the other,” Monrhinweg says.
02-03-2010, 03:31 PM
New 400kW V8 for Benz
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