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Thomas Holland Thinks the C63 Should Keep the 4 Cylinder

Engines like breathing fresh air. Couple that with a hybrid powertrain and you've got a winning combo on your hands.
Thomas Holland Thinks the C63 Should Keep the 4 Cylinder
It is rather amazing how much weight they stuffed in there while also removing 4 cylinders

The war began over ten years ago with the La Ferrari and the Porsche 918. They represented the early testing of a potent new weapon that could change the course of upcoming battles against turbocharging and full electrification. But alas, that technology seemed to represent a one-off show of force. They felt more like a science experiment than they did a model for the future. And the enemy prevailed.

But Bugatti and Lamborghini are championing a new charge. Both the Revuelto, and the upcoming V16 Bugatti hypercar are here to show us that once again performance and experience can come from, what I think to be, the absolute future of performance cars:

Naturally aspirated engines paired with electrical assistance.

The Z06 is a perfect example of N/A glory. If only the E-Ray had this engine!

I feel like I want to hop on a horse and carry a flag behind them with N/A written on it, because as you might have noticed I haven’t been quiet about my love for naturally aspirated engines. I just prefer the way they sound, respond, rev, and the way they pair with a manual transmission. So as we move into the future and time erodes our chances of new and exciting engines being developed, it’s time to use upcoming technology to our advantage and lose the turbochargers. Well, in some cars anyway.

The character of many modern cars benefit greatly from ramming air into the mouth of their engines. The GTR would be nothing without its turbos. Subarus feel like they are most at home when a surge of boost results in a frantic attempt by their all wheel drive systems to claw grip from whatever surface they may be on. The Toyota Supra feels like it deserves the mighty B58 turbocharged inline 6 more than its BMW cousins do, and the Porsche 911 Turbo might be the most effective, refined, and triumphant use of forced induction I’ve ever experienced. But many other cars from the last 10 years have felt like they have been hampered by the use of turbos in an attempt to keep up with the current expectations of 0-60 times and performance figures.

In something like a modified GTR, this is a sight for sore eyes

At the time of writing, it isn’t fully confirmed that the new V16 Hybrid in the yet to be fully revealed Chiron replacement, will actually be naturally aspirated. But reports suggest that it’s an 8.3L 9k rpm N/A Cosworth unit. And the sound sample we have been teased with certainly sounds like it's breathing free air. So perhaps I’m jumping the gun, but I have a feeling that this is phase two in the naturally aspirated engine’s plan to return gloriously to the forefront of automotive performance. Phase one was the Revuelto.

I was one of the lucky folks who was invited to Italy to drive the new Revuelto last year, and you may remember that James idiotically gave birth to his first child that week and couldn’t come. His loss. Because the car was magnificent. It was everything a flagship Lamborghini should be: low, wide, hilariously overstyled, and face-rippingly fast. But by far and away the best part about it was the application of hybridization to the drivetrain. 

This is hybrid performance done right

Lamborghini has built their brand on the back of naturally aspirated, screaming v12 engines. They wisely waited just the right amount of time before introducing the newest flagship car. The existence of electric motors and hybrid technology gifted them the ability to release another free-breathing V12 Lamborghini in an era where it seems like everything is going pure electric, or “turbo hybrid”. And the car is all the better for it. It’s literally the best case scenario.

You still get the noise, response, and linear feel of a naturally aspirated engine, but you also get the ability to drive around in EV only mode, and thereby enjoy excellent fuel economy. You get the benefit of easily tunable all wheel drive torque vectoring, and perhaps most importantly, those motors and batteries let Lamborghini hit an “acceptable” amount of performance without having to resort to forced induction. I say “resort to” because that's what it has felt like to me in so many cars, for many years now. In order for manufacturers to hit fuel economy targets AND satisfy the foaming mouths of those expecting the next version of a car to be faster and more powerful than not only its predecessor - but also its rivals - they’ve had to slap turbos on their cars to efficiently make more power.

The 296 GTB, while very good, feels a bit stifled by its twin-turbo V6

As I mentioned above, turbocharging has its place in the character of many cars. But the 911 Carrera, the C63 AMG, the Maserati Gran Turismo, V8 Ferraris, Alfa Romeo Giulia, the Aston Martin Vantage, and the Civic Type R, are just a few of the cars whose souls, in my opinion, have been severely damaged by the addition of snails. 

Don’t get me wrong, most of those cars are still fantastic and thrilling automobiles. But no matter how loud or quick you make the latest V8 (or V6) Ferrari, I’ll still always choose a 458. There is a character and tone to the 458’s engine that is absolutely impossible to simulate when turbochargers are added. Everytime you think the clever engineers in Maranello get close with the latest turbocharged Ferrari (even in the excellent hybrid 296 GTB), just a quick drive in the older cars will remind you that they never stood a chance. 

Likewise, the Civic Type R is a wonderful car, and still a riot to drive, but even a short jaunt in an older pre-turbo Type R will have you inadvertently yelling “V-TEC!” as the cam kicks in and rockets you to a furious 8000 rpm. It's like being inside a wasp.

These are cars that need to look closely at the model of applying hybrid technology to assist a naturally aspirated engine.

V-TEC gives you that immediate surge of delicious N/A power

Which brings us to the C63. The previous gen with its turbocharged V8 was a great car and still had AMG character. But predictably, the sound that the generation before made with its 6.2L Naturally aspirated V8 was just different. It was brutal. Its hammer-fisted delivery of displacement also made it wild in a totally different kind of way. So imagine how hard it was to comprehend the latest 4 cylinder C63. It’s like the Germans intercepted and badly translated a covert communication between Bugatti and Lamborghini as they discussed the virtues of applying hybrid technology to an INTERESTING ENGINE.

As you may have gleaned from our video, the new C63 is a disaster. There might not be a better car out there to apply the hybrid-N/A formula to. And the reason I use the C63 as my ultimate example, Is because I believe it’s the perfect test bed for a very small gasoline engine that relies on the wizardry of electric motors to make up for its deficiencies. I think a naturally aspirated 4 cylinder hybrid would be the perfect powerplant for the C63. 

Let the engine sing!

If you don’t agree please stop reading and go have a listen to the 190E Evo ii in hillclimb form, as it screams up the course at “Hillclimb La Roche”.

 In fact here’s a link. But make sure you come back after:

https://youtu.be/NC7TcYBXeBc?si=Zm89MamT8vh_7L2j

Now I dare you to tell me that 4 cylinders can’t sound good. 

So imagine the new C63, complete with all of its chintzy ambient lighting and over complicated tech or whatever, but instead of a dull turbocharged 4 cylinder, we have an 8500 rpm naturally aspirated screamer. Connected to whatever amount of plug-in hybrid assistance is necessary to satisfy the armchair spec-sheet readers. Hell, I’d take 200 less horsepower and 300 less pound feet of torque to be able to hear an engine inspired by that cosworth unit. A shouty, revvy 4 cylinder is in the DNA of the compact Mercedes sedan. Why not bring it back. Satisfy the fuel economy requirements, but give us something we care to listen to. Something that could help provide a more sonorous future. 

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