Now there are two cars in the C-Class family running that new-age four behind the ’63’ badge - but another coming to the boil will be a V8.

BUY into the GLC 63 sports utility (above) that is from today availing to Kiwi performance fans and you’re sitting behind the same forward-looking but controversial electric-assisted four cylinder petrol that has just introduced into the C63 AMG SE sedan here.

Buy into the CLE 63, another performance flagship edition of a DNA-related new derivative incoming in 2025, and you’ll be keeping old ways alive.

Preceded here by mainstream CLE 200 and CLE 300 coupes landing this year, the latter was also supposed to follow the C 63 and GLC 63 in also adopting the high-tech four … but, in part because of consumer resistance and dealer feedback, will now take one step back into history.

Incoming for the uber edition of CLE, the Mercedes that puts two into one - by replacing the C-Class two door in hard and soft top and its E-Class equivalents with the single model - is the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 that Benz and its performance partner had intended to from now on put out to pasture.

What’s going on? Basically, it’s Mercedes-Benz reacting now to lukewarm reception to the E-Performance plug-in hybrid drivetrain, which combines a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a rear-axle mounted electric motor.

The AMG type, called M139 (below), marries the 2.0-litre turbocharged four cylinder from the A45 S hot hatch developing 350kW and 545Nm, combined with a 150kW electric motor on the rear axle and a 6.1kWh battery pack.

It’s an absolute technical masterpiece and extremely ferocious - in the GLC 63 power output has risen by 33 percent, to the same 500kW and 1020Nm cited for the C 63 sedan, and the zero to 100kmh sprint is now dispatched in 3.5 seconds, down from 3.8s. Top speed is pegged at 275kmh.

The Tech is straight from Formula One. The battery pack was designed in conjunction with the Mercedes-AMG Formula One team, and is intended for quick recharges and discharges during high-performance driving – with a high energy density and individually-cooled battery cells. The turbocharger operation also benefits from the team’s experience. It is assisted by an electric motor which can spin up the turbo at low speeds when exhaust gases are insufficient, claimed to "maintain boost pressure at all times" and eliminate turbo lag.

 The set-up is massively more efficient and delivers economies well below capability of any V8. The 6.1kWh capacity means the AMG GLC63 S can travel just 12km on a single charge in electric mode – according to lab-testing procedures. The pack is claimed to deliver 80kW of continuous power, or up to 150kW in short bursts.

However, it’s different to the V8 in how it unleashes its huge firepower and, for all the bite, there’s a lot less bark. 

For all the good it does, that lack of aural drama and the requirement to employ a different kind of driving effort has alienated some long-term AMG fans who have only ever bought the V8 kinds, to point they have given this new-era choice a cold reception.

Poor acceptance and slow sales of the C 63, which launched in NZ last month but has been on sale in many other markets for almost a year, has been noted back in Germany.

The hotshot GLC 63, on sale in NZ from today in $199,900 SUV  - so, lineball with the C 63 sedan - and $206,990 coupe formats, adding $12,900 to achieve a early bird Edition 1 package, is now also finding the same level of resistance in many places, some overseas media are saying. 

Potentially, it might have an easier time here, given how strong the Kiwi following is for sports utilities over sedans.

However, Germany is thought to be paying close attention.

A big story in a recent edition of Britain’s Autocar magazine reveals the back story to why the original plan to deliver the CLE 63 with the fiery four-cylinder was scuppered in favour of resurrecting the V8.

The magazine says this decision is directly due to slow sales for the C 63 and GLC 63.

“Despite its class-leading performance, traditional AMG buyers haven’t taken to the E-Performance PHEV drivetrain … sales of the models are currently well below those of their V8 predecessors across AMG’s global markets,” says Autocar.

So instead the CLE 63 will get the latest version of AMG’s M177 V8 engine, which features mild-hybrid technology, making 464kW.  

By comparison, the E-Performance PHEV creates 350kW and 545Nm - far more than the old C63 and GLC 63 packed and  enough to credential it as the most power four-cylinder 2.0-litre ever put into a production car.

The CLE 63 will position above the CLE 53 Coupe and Cabriolet, also likely for NZ though a release date has yet to be shared, which run a turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine that produces 329kW.

Autocar says Benz now believes a V8 CLE will establish more strongly as a direct rival to the BMW M4, which offers up to 404kW from a twin turbo 3.0-litre straight six in its most potent form.

It cites Mercedes sources as saying the decision to provide the CLE with V8 power is also driven by feedback from its global dealer network. 

Dealers had suggested the possible positioning of a four-cylinder CLE 63 range-topper above the six-cylinder CLE 53 would lead to confusion among potential customers.

Could the C 63 and GLC 63 also return to the old ways? 

Benz has always insisted the engine bay of the new C-Class was designed with expectation it would only ever play host to four cylinder engine. That raises conjecture about whether a V8 would even fit.

Autocar says Markus Schafer, head of Mercedes-Benz’s research and development, has indicated the company is monitoring closely monitoring sales of the C63 and GLC 63 amid calls for them to return to V8 power.

It interviewed him at the recent Beijing motor show and quoted him as saying there that it will be “up to customers to decide” whether AMG continues with its downsized petrol-electric drivetrain. 

He is reported to have said: “We will stay close to the feedback of people and customers, and then we will go from that.”

The PHEV four-cylinder has been inspired by the downsized hybrids used in Formula 1, mixing “a high-performance internal combustion engine with a strong electrical side”.

Even with it in the arsenal, Benz is still continuing with other V8-powered AMG models, including the new SL, the GT and the S63.

Meantime, the GLC 63 has two options, in the form of performance ergonomic and ceramic composite brake packages, these respectively costing $6900 and $8300 to the regular stickers.

The car has many styling revisions to make in more muscled in appearance. 

The GLC 63 S is differentiated from the standard GLC with a unique AMG 'Panamericana' front grille, larger front air intakes, new side skirts, a restyled rear bumper with trapezoidal exhaust tips and a diffuser insert, and a roof spoiler.

Inside, there is a choice of regular or AMG Performance sports seats with Artico synthetic leather-look and microfibre upholstery, or nappa leather trim with embossed AMG crests in the headrests.

Standard is an AMG Performance steering wheel wrapped in nappa leather and microfibre, plus aluminium shift paddles, rotary drive mode selectors, AMG sports pedals, AMG floor mats, and AMG-branded illuminated door sill plates.

There are unique AMG-specific screens in the instrument cluster and infotainment touchscreen, including a 'Supersport' instrument layout, and an AMG Track Pace lap timer for race-track driving.

The Edition 1 treatment delivers carbon-fibre exterior trim packages, silver or grey matte exterior paint, an aerodynamic body kit, and yellow interior accents.

As in the C 63 sedan, power is sent to all four wheels through a nine-speed multi-clutch automatic transmission. The placement of the electric motor on the rear axle is claimed to let it apply power faster and "more directly into propulsion" – though electric assistance can also be sent to the front wheels if required.

The electric motor is connected to an automated two-speed gearbox – which shifts to second gear at 140kmh at the latest – and a limited-slip differential.

Under the skin, there is adaptive suspension, eight drive modes, an active anti-roll control system that uses electrically-controlled actuators to keep the body flat instead of traditional rigid anti-roll bars, speed-sensitive sports steering, and rear-wheel steering with up to 2.5 degrees of rotation.

The power boost comes at the cost of weight, as Mercedes-AMG says the new GLC 63 S tips the scales at 2310kg kerb – about 200kg heavier than the outgoing V8 model.