Hot Mercedes-AMG C 63 Electric prepares for fight with the BMW iM3

A couple of months ago the covers came off the all-new Mercedes C-Class Electric and now we’ve had our first glimpse of the hot AMG variant, which promises to continue the German super-saloon fight into the electric age. 

The hot electric C-Class, which we expect to be called Mercedes-AMG C 63 Electric, will be aimed squarely at the upcoming BMW iM3 - recently previewed by the M Neue Klasse Concept at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours race. 

While the test car we spotted is covered in camouflage, we can already see some key  performance-related changes over the standard C-Class Electric. For starters the wheelarches, in true AMG fashion, stick out further - especially at the front - to give the car a more imposing stance. 

Then there are the wider wheel and tyre combinations, with larger brake discs and calipers on show too. The front and rear bumpers are well disguised, although we expect to see larger air ducts to provide cooling to those uprated brakes and around to the back we’ll likely see a diffuser. 

The rest of the changes look far more restrained than the wild BMW M Concept we saw at Le Mans, which sported a wide bodykit, front splitter, rear ducktail spoiler and vented bonnet. 

Although the Mercedes-AMG C 63 Electric’s styling is more reserved than the electric M3’s, it’ll likely compete with the BMW’s radical performance stats. Rather than the AMG.EA platform of the recently revealed AMG GT 4-Door, the Mercedes C-Class Electric sits on the firm’s new MB.EA platform. So far this architecture is only shared with the new GLC Electric - which is available now from just over £55,000 when you go to the Auto Express Buy A Car service.  

The standard C-Class Electric comes with a choice of single or dual-motor variants with up to 482bhp - providing a 0-60mph time of less than four seconds. The regular car’s 94.5kWh battery is likely to be retained in the AMG, but in order to keep pace with the quad-motor BMW iM3 (which looks set to have around 750bhp), the C 63 Electric could receive a tri-motor set-up. Not only would this give the Mercedes plenty of power, it would also allow a greater distribution of power and torque between each axle to sharpen the AMG’s driving dynamics.

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Rear-wheel steer and adaptive air suspension should come standard on the hot AMG model and it’s almost certain that these elements will receive a more aggressive, bespoke tune too. 

We expect the electric C-Class AMG model to arrive sometime in 2027, by which point Mercedes-AMG will be bringing out a new V8-powered CLE 63 coupe. Unlike the current, plug-in hybrid four-cylinder C 63, the C 63 Electric won’t be offered as an estate, because that isn’t an option with the standard car. 

Pricing for the Mercedes-AMG C 63 Electric looks set to surpass the £100,000 mark, given that the current top-spec C-Class Electric commands a price tag over £70,000. 

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