The new Mercedes-AMG C63 SE Performance is a plug-in hybrid and delivers 680 CV of power

The new Mercedes-AMG C63 SE Performance 2023 has a very long name and a rather small engine, yet it delivers 680 CV of power. That said, the new Mercedes-AMG C63 is now a plug-in hybrid and features a four-cylinder block and all-wheel drive. It is the M139L 2.0-litre unit, which uses an electrically driven turbocharger. The energy from the 204 CV electric motor reaches the rear wheels, an axle that also features an electronically controlled limited-slip differential and a two-speed transmission.

This electric motor allows the model to run in zero-emission mode up to 125 km/h. It has a 6.1 kWh battery. All of this not only makes the C63 far more powerful than its predecessor, it surpasses it by a wide margin. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 250 km/h.

The electric motor acts only on the rear axle, and the petrol engine can be configured to do the same. But for the first time the model works all-wheel drive by default. Power flows to the 4Matic+ transmission through a conventional nine-speed automatic planetary gearbox, but equipped with a wet clutch pack instead of a torque converter.

This is the new Mercedes-AMG C63

Rear-axle steering also makes its debut on the new C63, and carbon-ceramic brakes join a standard equipment list that includes adaptive dampers for the steel-spring suspension and an AMG Dynamics drive mode selector with a new “Master” mode that allows the kind of mischief for which the C63s have become famous. Drivers also get AMG-specific graphics in the digital instrument cluster and the head-up display, plus a steering-wheel button offering four levels of energy recuperation, ranging from almost none to strong enough to allow one-pedal driving.

So far we have referred mainly to the C63 saloon, but everything we have discussed also applies to the estate. The long-roof version takes the same 3.4 seconds to reach 100 km/h and, like the saloon, rides on 19-inch wheels unless you upgrade to 20-inch through an options list that includes a revised version of the optional AMG Performance seat with side ventilation.