BrandsMercedes-AMG CLE 63 Mythos — The 650HP Flat-Plane V8 That Changes Everything
AI-generated concept illustration of the Mercedes-AMG CLE 63 Mythos — not an official Mercedes-AMG image. | Rev N Rise
In 2022, AMG replaced the C 63's V8 with a four-cylinder hybrid. AMG fans were furious — and they made that fury known loudly and continuously for three years. Today, AMG answered them. The CLE 63 Mythos is a brand-new flat-plane crankshaft V8 producing 650 horsepower, revving past 9,000rpm, mounted in a widebody two-door coupe with a motorsport rear wing, carbon fibre construction and rear-wheel drive. It is one of fewer than 500 that will ever be built. And it sounds — according to everyone who has heard it running — like nothing Mercedes has produced in decades.
The story of the CLE 63 Mythos begins not in a design studio but in an online comments section. In 2022, Mercedes-AMG replaced the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 in the C 63 with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid system. The performance numbers were competitive. The fuel consumption was dramatically better. And the reaction from AMG's core buyers was one of the most sustained and vocal backlashes in modern automotive history. Forums, YouTube videos, comparison tests — all delivered the same verdict: the four-cylinder C 63 was technically impressive but emotionally hollow. It did not sound like an AMG. It did not feel like an AMG. And for buyers who were spending £80,000 specifically because they wanted an AMG, that distinction mattered enormously.
AMG CEO Michael Schiebe has since confirmed publicly that the M177 4.0-litre V8 will continue to power core AMG models through this decade — a direct acknowledgement that the brand heard what its customers were saying. The CLE 63 Mythos is the most emphatic possible statement of that commitment. Not only does it bring back the V8 — it brings back an entirely new version of the V8 that is more extreme, more emotional and more Ferrari-like than anything AMG has produced before.
This is the detail that makes the CLE 63 Mythos genuinely historic. Mercedes-AMG has developed a brand-new 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft — a first for the brand. The distinction between a flat-plane and cross-plane crankshaft is fundamental to an engine's character. Conventional V8s — including all previous AMG V8s — use a cross-plane crankshaft, which creates the characteristic burbling rumble associated with American muscle cars and traditional European sports cars. Flat-plane crankshafts — as used by Ferrari and McLaren — create a higher-revving, more sharply defined engine note that sounds closer to a racing car than a road car.
The flat-plane crank in the CLE 63 Mythos allows the engine to rev past 9,000rpm — extraordinary for a turbocharged production V8 — and produces 650 horsepower and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque. The exhaust note is described by everyone who has heard prototype test cars as genuinely unlike anything in Mercedes's current range — a screaming, high-frequency V8 howl that has more in common with a Ferrari 488 Pista than the traditional AMG V8 burble. For buyers who missed the emotional engagement of the V8 C 63, the CLE 63 Mythos does not simply restore it — it exceeds anything the old V8 was capable of.
This engine debuted in a milder 530hp luxury tune in the new S-Class facelift revealed on January 29, 2026. In the CLE 63 Mythos, it has been tuned specifically for maximum performance — different turbochargers, a revised intake, an AMG-specific exhaust system and software calibrated for the Mythos's track-focused character. The result is a 120hp advantage over the S-Class application from the same basic architecture.
The CLE 63 Mythos is the second model in AMG's Mythos ultra-exclusive series. The first — the SL-based AMG PureSpeed — was produced in 250 units globally, priced at over $1 million and sold out within weeks of order books opening. The Mythos programme positions AMG above its regular production range — above even the Black Series — in a tier that competes directly with Aston Martin One-77, Ferrari Monza SP and Lamborghini limited-edition products in terms of exclusivity, price and emotional impact.
Mythos orders are not handled through standard Mercedes dealerships. They are managed through AMG's dedicated customer team and a select group of specialist retailers who handle the brand's most exclusive relationships. Buyers are expected to already be within AMG's collector network — previous owners of AMG Black Series, AMG ONE or the PureSpeed. For most people, the CLE 63 Mythos is a car they will read about and never sit in. For the fewer than 500 people who will own one, it is the definitive statement of what AMG stands for in 2026.
The CLE 63 Mythos's visual identity makes no attempt at subtlety. Based on the CLE Coupe — itself a handsome two-door grand tourer — the Mythos receives a dramatically widened body with flared front and rear arches accommodating a substantially wider track. A massive motorsport rear wing dominates the car's rear profile — active aerodynamics integrated into a structure that generates significant downforce at speed. A carbon fibre construction programme reduces weight throughout — bonnet, roof, splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser all in carbon.
The front bumper features a massive lower intake with active aerodynamic slats — visible in prototype test images from winter 2026 — flanking the Panamericana grille in a layout clearly inspired by the AMG GT track cars. At the rear, four square exhaust outlets — the traditional AMG V8 visual signature, absent from the four-cylinder C 63 — sit prominently in the diffuser. They are not purely decorative. At 9,000rpm, those four exhaust outlets will be making themselves known.
Test footage from winter 2026 in Sweden showed the CLE 63 Mythos prototype producing deliberate oversteer in snow — confirming the rear-wheel-drive configuration that AMG enthusiasts hoped for. A 4MATIC+ AWD option may follow for markets that demand it, but the Mythos in its primary specification is built to rotate. That is as deliberate a statement as the flat-plane V8 itself.
| Base Car | Mercedes-AMG CLE Coupé — heavily modified |
| Programme | AMG Mythos Series — second model after PureSpeed |
| Engine | New 4.0L flat-plane crank twin-turbo V8 |
| Output | 650hp / 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) torque |
| Redline | 9,000+ rpm — flat-plane architecture |
| Transmission | AMG 9-speed MCT |
| Drive | RWD primary — 4MATIC+ possible option |
| Body | Widebody — flared arches front + rear |
| Construction | Carbon fibre — bonnet, roof, splitter, skirts, diffuser |
| Rear Wing | Massive motorsport active wing — significant downforce |
| Front Aero | Active slat lower intake — Panamericana grille |
| Exhaust | Four square outlets — traditional V8 AMG signature |
| Brakes | Carbon ceramic — AMG PCCB spec |
| Production Units | ~250–500 globally — exact figure TBC |
| US Allocation (est.) | 75–150 units |
| UK Price (est.) | £155,000–£200,000+ |
| US Price (est.) | $400,000+ |
| Order Process | Through AMG dedicated team — not standard dealers |
| Official Reveal | May 21 2026 — today |
| Deliveries | Late 2026 / early 2027 |
| Engine Debut | January 29 2026 — S-Class facelift (530hp tune) |
| First Mythos Model | AMG PureSpeed — 250 units — sold out immediately |
It is worth being explicit about what the CLE 63 Mythos represents in the context of AMG's recent history. The 2022 C 63's four-cylinder engine was not a failure in any technical sense. Its performance was excellent. Its efficiency was genuinely impressive. But it broke something fundamental in the relationship between AMG and its most loyal buyers — the trust that an AMG product would always prioritise emotional engagement over regulatory compliance.
The CLE 63 Mythos is AMG's acknowledgement that this trust matters more than a fuel consumption figure. A 9,000rpm flat-plane V8 is not designed for efficiency. It is designed to produce an experience — a sound, a feeling, a connection between driver and machine — that justifies every penny of its price. The fact that AMG has gone beyond the old V8 rather than simply restoring it — creating something with a higher redline, a more aggressive character and a more extreme sound than anything the M177 ever produced — suggests a brand that is not simply apologising for the C 63 decision but actively overcompensating for it. The result is one of the most significant AMG products of the decade. Possibly ever.
Official pricing has not been confirmed. Based on the PureSpeed's pricing precedent and the CLE 63 Mythos's position within the Mythos programme, UK pricing is expected to fall between £155,000 and £200,000 — with fully personalised versions potentially exceeding £200,000. US pricing is estimated above $400,000. Given that the PureSpeed sold out within weeks of opening order books, buyers who want a CLE 63 Mythos should be engaging with AMG's customer team immediately. Waiting for a test drive before ordering is not a realistic strategy for a car of this rarity.
The Mercedes-AMG CLE 63 Mythos is the most important AMG product in years. Not because of the 650 horsepower. Not because of the 9,000rpm redline. But because of what it represents: a brand that listened to its customers, understood what it had compromised in the pursuit of efficiency and chose to correct that compromise in the most dramatic way imaginable. A flat-plane crankshaft V8. Rear-wheel drive. A widebody coupe with a motorsport rear wing. Fewer than 500 examples. AMG did not simply bring back the V8. It reinvented it. And in doing so, it may have produced the finest two-door grand tourer with an AMG badge ever made.