Report: Mercedes-AMG could introduce all-wheel drive to high-performance V12 models

Mercedes-Benz and their in-house tuning branch, AMG, have been slowly doing away with the rear-wheel drive option by offering their cars with all-wheel drive only as a way to streamline sales and curb production costs. Additionally, all-wheel drive offers benefits with performance and handling, though admittedly, at the cost of weight and complexity, making them rather not much different than their competitors from Ingosltadt (Audi).

However, some AMG models have been able to avoid the changeover to all-wheel drive, specifically the ones powered by the monster V12s. This might actually change in the near-future as CARandDRIVER spoke to AMG’s head, Tobias Moers, who hinted at the arrival of all-paw traction for the 12-cylinder models. Not only could the addition of all-wheel drive make the famed “65” AMG models faster, it would provide them with better traction off of the line, given the monstrous amount of torque they produce, which can very easily translate to reduced performance times from easy losses of traction.

The move would also compensate for AMG’s desire to make the V12 models even more powerful than they are, especially with the power ratings of the lesser V8 models creeping up closer to those of the V12 cars, nearly rendering the 12-cylinder models almost pointless.

In addition to the all-wheel drive and V12 talk, the next-generation Mercedes-AMG E63 is said to be coming with Merc’s new nine-speed AMG Speedshift automatic, basically a fortified version of Mercedes-Benz’s current and new 9G-TRONIC nine-speed automatic. It’ll also be equipped with the company’s new electronic rear-differential that first debuted on the latest C63 AMG.

There are some new AMG models in the pipeline as well as Moers suggested the impending arrival of a C-Class Convertible, which in typical Mercedes fashion, will also get the full-fledged AMG treatment.

But he didn’t disclose when exactly these changes will happen. Nonetheless, with the next-generation E-Class due for arrival in the near future, and given how the new C-Class has already been out for some time, we can expect all of this to happen within the coming years.

– By: Chris Chin

Source: Car & Driver