Mercedes-AMG's V8 Comeback Arrives With 627 Horsepower -- Under a CEO Who Used to Build EVs
For the last few years, the loudest story in performance-car engineering has been what's disappearing: cylinders, displacement, the exhaust note itself, all traded for battery packs and instant electric torque. Mercedes-AMG has now confirmed it is walking part of that story back. Before the end of 2026, the GLE and GLS get a new flat-plane-crank V8 producing 627 horsepower, with a 0-60 mph time under four seconds. It's one of the more unexpected reversals in recent luxury-performance news, and it lands at an odd moment: AMG's outgoing chief spent his final months in the job promising to double down on combustion, and his replacement, who took over the company on 1 July 2026, spent the previous several years leading Porsche's Taycan electric program.
The engine itself is more an evolution than a clean-sheet design. It shares its flat-plane-crank architecture with the updated V8 that appeared in the current S-Class facelift, where it makes 530 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque before AMG's engineers get to it. Flat-plane cranks are common in high-revving Ferrari and Corvette engines because they let a V8 breathe and rev like two four-cylinders bolted together; putting one under an SUV, rather than a low two-seat sports car, is the part that raises eyebrows. AMG had previously kept this layout for Black Series specials only, so putting it into a full-size family SUV signals the company sees genuine demand for it well beyond halo cars.
Why AMG Is Doubling Down on Eight Cylinders
The timing tells its own story. Mercedes-AMG's outgoing CEO used the word "doubling down" specifically, framing the V8's return as a response to what customers are actually buying, not a retreat from electrification. AMG's EV lineup keeps expanding in parallel; this isn't a cancellation of that plan, it's an admission that a meaningful slice of the market, particularly in performance SUVs, still wants a combustion engine with real theater to it. A separate, more thoroughly reengineered Euro 7-compliant V8 is reportedly being developed for a 2028 launch, suggesting this is a multi-year commitment rather than a one-off model-year update.
That reversal matters more in Dubai than in almost any other market AMG sells into. The GLE 63 and GLS 63 are among the most cross-shopped performance SUVs in the region, and the V8 soundtrack is not incidental to why buyers here choose them over an EQ badge. A 627-horsepower flat-plane V8 in a full-size SUV is squarely aimed at exactly the kind of buyer who walks into a showroom in Al Quoz asking specifically whether a car still has a real engine in it.
What This Means for Buyers in Dubai and the GCC
For the pre-owned and specialist market, a confirmed V8 comeback usually moves prices in two directions at once. Outgoing six-cylinder and hybrid GLE/GLS variants, and current-generation Black Series cars that already carry this flat-plane architecture, tend to firm up in value as the last examples of a shrinking breed, while buyers who were holding off on an AMG SUV purchase now have a concrete reason to wait for the new engine rather than settle for less. We see both patterns play out with nearly every combustion-versus-EV headline that moves through the GCC market. At House of Cars Dubai, sourcing the right car often means tracking exactly this kind of manufacturer signal months before the metal actually lands in the region, whether that means securing a current V8 GLE 63 before values shift, or lining up early allocation once the new engine is confirmed for GCC-spec markets. If you're weighing a performance SUV purchase around this news, it's worth a conversation before you commit either way.