Mercedes has decided not to replace its BMW M3 chasing CLK63 AMG.
In a move that hints at a consolidation of its broad model line-up, the German car maker says it does not plan producing an AMG version of the soon-to-be-launched E-class Coupe owing to problems with the new car’s positioning.
“We had a good look where it would fit into the line-up and eventually came to the conclusion it would be too close to the CLS63 AMG, both in positioning and price,” a Mercedes insider told Autocar at the New York motor show.
By switching from C-class underpinnings to E-class underpinnings, the E-class coupe has essentially jumped a class – a jump too far for Mercedes’s in-housing tuning offshoot, it would seem.
The decision not to push ahead with an AMG version of the new two door also means there will be no follow-up to the pared out CLK AMG Black Series.
However, Mercedes has confirmed a successor to the CLS63 AMG is in the works. Rumours abound it could be the first car to benefit from AMG’s new twin-turbocharged direct direct injection V8 engine planned to be unveiled next year.
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