Opinion: is AMG on the turn?

Look, before you get all up in my grill in the comments below, let me preface this by stating that I’m not an old fart that can’t get over Opal Fruits being called Starburst, and I don't think that Ceefax is better than push notifications. Oh no. I accept change and progression. But when character and personality traits change, I find things harder to swallow.

Which brings me onto AMG. Back in 1967, Mssrs Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher set up shop in Großaspach as an independent tuning firm, and their resultant ‘AMG’ quickly became the master at making mighty, race-winning Mercedes. Obsessed with putting big engines in cars with a little bonnet star, they proved that meaty Mercs were a good thing. Something Mercedes later agreed with when they officially joined forces.

See, AMGs have always been loud to both the eye and the ear. Simultaneously completely serious and completely stupid in equal measure. Always caught in a constant battle between torque and tarmac. But later this year could see the era of fast, rear-drive Merc super-saloons as we know them coming to an end.

Prevalent rumours inside the industry are suggesting the mighty V8 that’s at the heart of the C and E63 will be cast aside and set in amber, with a new 2.0-litre M139 engine from the A45 being dropped in with some hybrid gubbins and electric turbos instead. Now, we’ve had parts of the AMG experience change over the years (the introduction of superchargers, front-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive, loss of natural aspiration, the inclusion of turbochargers and introduction of flat-plane cranks and noise-snuffing exhausts) but we’ve always had the V8. And AMG losing that is like a ventriloquist losing its puppet.

You could argue the renegades at AMG were reined in back in 1990 when they officially got into bed with Mercedes and therefore nosedived straight into a trifle of bureaucracy. But we got cars like the C36 AMG, E50 AMG and the Gs: big cars, big V8s creating big power nutters. The introduction of the Black Series range and a massive model offensive in the mid-2000s really drilled down into AMG’s small-car-big-engine-good psyche and captivated a new generation of petrolheads far and wide. This was thanks to a load of marketing budget, sledgehammer cars and people like Bernd Schnider skidding them around at every opportunity. It later cemented the reputation on the phenomenal 6.2-litre V8 engine and gave a lot of the cars all-time great status. If that wasn’t enough for ya, there was also the option to crane in a V12 into the big boys.

Back then AMGs were evocative and emotional; cars with puffed out chests, howitzers under the hood and outrageous performance. If you hadn’t heard of AMG and its hot rod history on the grapevine, you would as soon as one rumbled past you down the street. They were properly aspirational and still are – sales grew by 11.8 per cent to 132,136 units in 2019. But if things go the way they look like they will and AMG loses the V8, will the brand still have the same desirability? That's my worry.

It’s not just the V8 that’s gone. AMG has also lost Tobias Moers to Aston Martin, the man behind some of Affalterbach's modern wonders. You could always tell he was at the coalface of the cars that mattered as soon as you drove them. So this year also brings new blood in the shape of Philipp Schiemer (the new CEO) and Jochen Hermann (new chief technical officer) as well as new technology. What will these do for the brand and product? Will there be a continuation of diluting models with the inclusion of more 35, 43 and 53 monikers? Will AMGs sound good at all anymore? They didn't really come out swinging with the new Black Series, did they? How will they launch the AMG One? Will it be any good? Can a four-cylinder C63 really work? And it's not going to be long until you see and AMG badge on an EV.

Safe to say there's a lot to answer in the coming months. And no matter what, the marketing team will find a way to spin it. But the future of AMG might be quite different to the past – it’s just up to you to work out what side of the 'for better/for worse' fence you’re on. So let us know below.