The sports car world is changing at an accelerating rate. Battery packs are encroaching on territory where enormous displacement once ruled supreme, and now it looks like Mercedes-Benz’s performance tuning division, AMG, will soon cross to the ranks of hybrid power.
That’s the word from Mercedes-Benz’s head of R&D Thomas Weber. Speaking to the British publication Autocar, Weber confirmed that a hybridized AMG performance model could go on sale in the next five years.
The impetus comes from growing pressure to increase engine efficiency across the board, with more than just Mercedes AMG feeling the squeeze to go green. Weber said that every part of the Mercedes stable needs a revamp, adding, “No one part of our business can be carried on the back of another. It’s a huge task to reduce AMG fuel consumption but we’ve realized that it’s also a huge opportunity.”
As emission regulations in the EU become more stringent, Daimler must meet the goal of reducing average CO2 output to 101 g/km by 2020. Failure to do so will result in big fines. The most effective way to reduce emissions without significantly hampering performance seems to be through the use of battery power.
Weber went on to say that, considering the current market climate, hybrid performance was not the right move, adding that AMG customers wanted the highest-performance option available. “We don’t know when they will be ready for hybrid,” he said.
Regardless, Weber says AMG is prepping to offer something “special” by 2020, at which time it will be necessary to unveil the performance division’s hybrid and electrified plans.
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