Mercedes AMG readying 53 range of cars with new inline, 6 cylinder engines

It has been more than a year since we have been hearing that an all-new inline-six cylinder engine would rest under the hood of future Mercedes-Benz products. BMW had last produced an inline six a decade ago and obviously many a fans of the brand were celebrating its return.

Now, Mercedes Benz has confirmed that a new range of cars, under the moniker 53 series will be launched, slated in between the 43 series and 63 series and shall be powered by the aforementioned newly developed, turbocharged, inline six cylinder engines.The 2018 S-Class would be the first model with the new engine doing duty under its hood, atleast in Europe. It has also been reported that AMG has been working on its own variant, and we are only very excited to see what the performance division has in store.

This new range of inline, four and six cylinder engines are built on a modular platform which should help the German auto manufacturer to handle the cost more effectively. In the S-Class, this new M256 3.0-liter six cylinder engine makes 408 horsepower and over 500 Nm of torque. That’s a significant step up from the already meaty 333 horsepower and 480 Nm of torque developed by the current V6. When doing duty under AMG performance cars, the engine is expected to make about 430 horsepower.

The engine is powered by two turbochargers; one exhaust-powered and one electric — as well as a mild-hybrid 48-volt system. These new engines will power a new AMG 53 range, most probably replacing the V6 in cars like the Mercedes-AMG C43 and E43.

Everything with the 53 moniker will pack the new inline-six, supplementing the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in all the 63 models. Since the U.S.-market S-Class is getting the V6, the new CLS 53 is likely to be the first American model with the new engine and the 53 badge, the S 500 launched in European markets already comes with the 3.0 litre, inline six cylinder.

While Mercedes has not announced whether the 53 range of cars will make it to India, judging by the launch of the 43 series and the range topping GT-R, we can only expect the 53 series to make it to our shores.