AMG has announced that its 4.0-L V8 engine will remain in service longer than expected due to reduced demand for electric cars, but will not be an option in the most powerful versions of the Mercedes C-Class and E-Class, which will receive new powertrains.
Like many other companies, Mercedes-AMG planned to fully electrify its cars, but the current situation with battery prices forced this company to change its plans. This means that the full electrification of Mercedes-AMG cars is expected after 2035.
The company announced that it is investing a lot of money in the development of the hybrid system, and that customers are increasingly getting used to the 2.0-L four-cylinder engine (M139) with a plug-in hybrid system, which powers the current model C63. The decision of the Mercedes management is also supported by Michael Schiebe, CEO of AMG.
It all started 21 years ago when the Continental GT Coupé was revealed, and with it a 6.0L turbo W12 engine. “When we first launched the W12 back in 2003, we knew we had a powerful engine that would propel both our cars and brand forwards at speed. Twenty years and more than 100,000 W12s later, the time has come to retire this now-iconic powertrain as we take strides towards electrification – but not without giving it the best send-off possible with the most powerful version of the engine ever created,” said Bentley chairman Adrian Hallmark.
All this time, the W12 engine was significantly more compact and lighter than the classic V12 engine. Now its place will be taken by a 4.0L V8 biturbo engine assisted by a hybrid system with 790 hp (589 kW) and 737 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque.
The last Bentley that had the honor of being powered by this engine was the Bentley Batur, thus ending the period in the production of powerful engines. Only 16 examples of this model were produced, and all of them were sold in a short time at a price of 2 million dollars.
At the beginning of July, it was announced that Tesla would not meet the deadline for the presentation of its Robotaxi, which was supposed to happen on August 8, and now we have a new date. The Tesla Cybercab is coming on October 10, 2024.
According to Elon Musk’s statement, Tesla changed the date of presentation of self-driving taxis because the company wanted to improve the vehicle with some new technological solutions. What exactly it is about has not been announced.
Musk also said that self-driving cars, including taxis, are key to Tesla’s future as an extremely valuable AI company. However, it is still unclear whether Tesla can actually perfect the technology for autonomous driving. The company already has a Full Self-Driving function, which still requires human supervision and often makes mistakes.
The CEO of Tesla Motors believes that the company cannot offer rides to customers until the Full Self-Driving technology can be used without supervision. The arrival time of the robotaxi on the market depends on technological progress and approvals.
Recently, we could see the unsuccessful presentation of the Robotaxi Verne, by Rimac Automobili. After several attempts to call a vehicle via the app, Verne did not come on stage. “Today we presented Verne, the car, the infrastructure. The car is one of the elements of the ecosystem. We make the car ourselves and are building a factory near the campus. We will produce cars for the whole world. We are now two years away from the next phase, when driving around Zagreb. We had a problem with the brake, the car wouldn’t start. It’s a completely different car, the dimensions are like a Golf, but the interior is made to be more comfortable and spacious,” said Rimac. Although the company claimed that the car was supposed to go on stage by itself, leaked information says that the car was supposed to be driven by a person with a joystick.
We should not forget that these companies take large amounts of money (hundreds of millions) from investors and even taxpayers, in order to make a show, set a new date and take more money. Are they so skilled at deception, or are we so stupid that we believe everything they say?!
