Mercedes-AMG's V12 About To Die, V8 Will Live Longer Than Expected

V12 engines are fast becoming an endangered species. These glorious big 12-bangers are dropping like flies, and it’s looking like the Mercedes-AMG’s 6.0-litre twin-turbo unit is the next one we’ll be pressing X to pay respects for.

Speaking to Australian publication Go Auto, AMG boss Tobias Moers confirmed that after the current S65 is taken “out of our portfolio,” production of the 622bhp, 737lb ft engine will cease.

It’s a pity, but the prognosis for the company’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 is much more promising, and it’s all thanks to hybrid technology. “The V8 is a pretty efficient engine…In combination with an electrified powertrain, it could be a longer lifecycle than what everybody thinks.”

As for how long it has, Moers reckons it’s too difficult to say, given how quickly automotive technology is moving right now. “Nobody in the industry is able to predict the V8 engine ends, say, in 2028 – that’s impossible,” he concluded.

AMG has previously admitted that the Mercedes sub-brand will inevitably go electric at some point, but hopefully, we’ll be hearing rumbly V8 noises from these cars for a little while yet.