Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz announced the SLS AMG’s days are numbered, but the sadness didn’t last long because the German automaker is hard at work with its successor, the Mercedes-AMG GT.
There’s still a long way to go before the finished product is unveiled, but Mercedes-Benz just revealed what will be under the hood of its upcoming halo car. Codenamed the M178, a twin-turbocharged, 4.0-litre V8 will be under the hood of the AMG GT, pumping out 503 horsepower at 6,250 rpm and 479 lb.-ft. of torque between 1,750 to 4,750 rpm in its current tuned state.
With that said, Mercedes-Benz promises the M178 will be one of the most powerful production-spec engines in the world developed with a handful of advanced technologies, including flow-optimized cylinder heads made out of zirconium alloy for maximum thermal conductivity, nano-slide-coated cylinder walls for minimal friction, dry-sump lubrication and direct-injection, among a handful of other features.
In addition to the Mercedes-AMG GT, the M178 is expected under the hood of the next-generation C63 AMG, as well as nearly every other AMG model given the new mill is a replacement for the current, normally-aspirated 6.2L V8. You can also bet it will sound absolutely incredible, which Mercedes has seen fit to tease in its latest batch of videos.
