Mercedes-AMG details AMG GT’s Four.0L biturbo V8

Mercedes-AMG has unwrapped its latest V8 engine – the Four.0-litre V8 biturbo engine at the sporting heart of the fresh Mercedes-AMG GT car. This innovative eight-cylinder unit stands out for its sublime power delivery, the purposeful lightweight construction, as well as its high efficiency and environmental compatibility. With peak power of up to three hundred seventy five kW (510 hp) and maximum torque of up to six hundred fifty Nm, the fresh lightweight AMG V8 is said to supply motorsport-inspired spectacle. The fresh sports car engine goes after in an amazing V8 tradition that embarked in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven with the M100 in the legendary three hundred SEL 6.8 AMG racing car and resumes with trendsetting features of the future.

Powerful V8 engines have long been a core competence at AMG, the spectacle brand from Mercedes-Benz. Innovative and arousing high-performance engines come out of the location in Affalterbach. On this occasion, Mercedes-AMG GmbH is entirely responsible for both development and production.

Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH: “V8 engines are an integral part of the AMG philosophy and the brand’s commitment to ‘Driving Performance’. The V8 biturbo engine for our fresh GT is going to delight our customers!”

Christian Enderle, Head of Engine and Powertrain Development at Mercedes-AMG: “The fresh AMG Four.0-litre V8 biturbo sees us presenting an arousing and powerful sports car engine which, thanks to a number of measures, also represents the next step in efficiency.”

Very first sports car engine with ‘hot inwards V’ and dry sump lubrication

The fresh AMG V8 engine has two turbochargers which are not mounted on the outside of the cylinder banks but rather inwards the V configuration – experts call it a ‘hot inwards V’. The benefits are a compact engine design, an optimum response and low harass gas emissions. Dry sump lubrication permits the engine to be installed lower, which moves the centre of gravity closer to the road and forms the basis for high lateral acceleration. The M178 (in-house designation) from AMG is thus the world’s very first sports car engine with hot inwards V and dry sump lubrication. With a dry weight of two hundred nine kg the fresh AMG V8 is also the lightest engine in its competitive segment.

The fresh AMG M178 V8 engine at a glance:

at one thousand seven hundred fifty – four thousand seven hundred fifty rpm

Superior power delivery and motorsport-inspired spectacle

As the latest member of the Mercedes-Benz BlueDIRECT engine family, the AMG M178 stands out for its superior power delivery and motorsport-inspired spectacle. It boasts an emotive and unmistakable AMG V8 engine sound, along with an instant response and high pulling power. The torque curve is synonymous with good driveability: the peak of six hundred fifty Nm is available in the broad range from one thousand seven hundred fifty to four thousand seven hundred fifty rpm.

With a displacement of three thousand nine hundred eighty two cc, in terms of technology the V8 is closely related to the AMG Two.0-litre turbo engine in the A forty five AMG, CLA forty five AMG and GLA forty five AMG, which is presently the most powerful, series-production four-cylinder engine in the world. Both AMG engines have the same bore/stroke ratio, assuring high revving capability. Combination formation comes courtesy of third-generation direct petrol injection with piezo injectors. The very efficient and economical AMG Four.0-litre, V8 biturbo engine meets the Euro six emissions standard and the maximum particulate emissions level that takes effect in 2016.

Cylinder bore liners featuring NANOSLIDE® technology

The aluminium crankcase is produced using sand casting technology and features a closed deck design. This ensures extreme strength whilst keeping the weight as low as possible, and enables high injection pressures of up to one hundred thirty bar. The cylinder bore surfaces feature NANOSLIDE® technology which makes them twice as hard as conventional cast-iron linings.

NANOSLIDE® was developed by Daimler beginning in the year two thousand and has so far been used in over 200,000 engines since 2006. The very first unit with NANOSLIDE® technology was likewise an AMG V8: the enormously successful predecessor to the fresh AMG Four.0-litre biturbo. The application scope for this multi-award-winning technology has been continually widened. Since the commence of the two thousand fourteen race season it is also being deployed in the fresh Mercedes F1 V6 turbo engine.

‘Spectacle honing’ is another measure to reduce friction and therefore consumption: in this complicated process, the cylinder liners receive their mechanical surface treatment when already bolted in place.

A jig resembling spectacles is bolted to the crankcase in place of the cylinder head mounted later. Any cylinder warpage that might occur during final assembly is therefore taken into account or eliminated as the cylinder liners are honed. This has advantages in terms of both durability and oil consumption. The fresh AMG V8 has forged aluminium pistons featuring a lightweight design and high strength. A low-friction piston ring package reduces fuel and oil consumption.

Dry sump lubrication for high lateral acceleration

Thanks to the use of dry sump lubrication, a conventional oil pan is redundant. Already installed low down, the engine could thus be dropped by a further fifty five millimetres. This lowers the vehicle’s centre of gravity, which is ideal for a sports car with utterly high lateral dynamics. In addition to improved agility, dry sump lubrication ensures direct oil extraction from the crankcases for optimal engine lubrication, even at high speeds on leans.

In the M178, dry sump lubrication deploys a absorption pump, a pressure pump and an outward oil tank with a capacity of twelve litres. The system circulates nine litres of engine oil in total. The oil absorption pump extracts oil directly from the crankcases, cylinder goes and valve assets assembly and produces it to the outward oil tank at a pump output of up to two hundred fifty litres per minute. Lubricant remains there for just five seconds before being pumped back around the high-performance engine. Efficient engine oil absorption improves engine efficiency further. On-demand control of the pressure oil pump takes into account the engine rpm, temperature and blast characteristics stored by the control unit. Made of plastic, the oil pan bottom section and oil tank are proof of a commitment to lightweight construction.

Cylinder goes with zirconium alloy

The cylinder goes in the AMG Four.0-litre, V8 biturbo engine are made of a zirconium alloy for maximum temperature resistance and thermal conductivity. Four overhead camshafts control a total of thirty two valves. Camshaft adjustment on the inlet and outlet side enables an excellent response and optimises the gas cycle for each operating point. Optimised valve springs and the low-friction valve gear with cam followers supply further fuel savings.

Direct injection with spray-guided combustion

A combination of biturbocharging and direct petrol injection with spray-guided combustion increases thermodynamic efficiency, thereby reducing fuel consumption and harass gas emissions.

Particularly rapid and precise piezo injectors drizzle the fuel at high pressure into eight combustion chambers. Numerous injection occurs on-demand, ensuring a homogeneous fuel/air combination. The delivery of fuel is electronically managed and fully variable for a fuel pressure inbetween one hundred and two hundred bar.

Biturbocharging with ‘hot inwards V’

Unlike the previously conventional treatment, both harass gas turbochargers in the fresh M178 are located inwards the ‘hot inwards V’ configuration rather than on the outside of the cylinder banks. The advantages of this layout are that the V8 engine is considerably more compact, which enables optimum weight distribution inbetween the front and rear axle, as well as the low installation position. The ‘hot inwards V’ also optimises the supply of fresh air to both harass gas turbochargers. Electronically managed blow-off valves ensure a very instant and direct response. The maximum charge pressure is 1.Two bar; the turbochargers have a maximum speed of 186,000 revolutions per minute. For combustion purposes, Two.Three times more oxygen atoms are pressed into the turbocharged engine as would be the case in a naturally aspirated engine. The two firewall catalytic converters in thin-walled ceramic material placed down from the harass gas turbochargers react very quickly due to their close-coupled configuration. In conjunction with two metal, underfloor catalytic converters, the M178 supplies effective emission control.

Sports harass system with variable harass flaps

Excitement, emotive appeal and recognition value: at Mercedes-AMG engine sound is an significant target during development. The fresh GT has a sports harass system with fully variable harass flaps. This gives the driver the capability to vary the engine sound: depending on the selected mode they may practice the fresh AMG V8 with a concentrate on convenience and relaxed, long-distance journeys or with a more emotive, motorsport-inspired touch. The M178 has its own tonal characteristics which denote the GT’s membership of the AMG family but that also distinguish it from all other high-performance cars.

There is an harass flap on either side of the rear silencer which is actuated variably on a logic-controlled basis depending on the transmission mode, driver’s power requirement and the engine speed. At low geysers and engine rpm the flaps remain closed. This causes the harass gases to cover a longer distance and flow through an extra damping element so that the engine sound is pleasurably subdued and irritating frequencies are effectively suppressed. When the driver accelerates, the flaps progressively open so that albeit some of the harass gases cover the longer, acoustically dampened distance, most travel the shorter distance. Under total blast at higher engine speeds, both flaps are fully opened, thus permitting the occupants to love the powerful sound typical of an AMG V8. In brief, they are left in no doubt as to the spectacle potential of the 375 kW (510 hp) eight-cylinder biturbo engine.

Efficient cooling of charge air, water and engine oil

For optimum power output even when outside temperatures are high, Mercedes-AMG uses indirect air/water intercooling. The charge air cooler has a separate, low-temperature water circuit. Due to the optimised throughflow profile for the intercooler, the maximum intake air temperature is one hundred eighty degrees Celsius. The low-temperature cooler with its water circuit ensures that the intake air compressed by the turbochargers cools down effectively before it comes in the combustion chambers, and maintains a consistently low intake temperature even under total blast. A large radiator at the car’s front end ensures managed cooling of the water circulating in the low-temperature circuit. Utterly brief charge-air ducting makes for optimum responsiveness.

The engine coolant is cooled using the particularly efficient cross-flow principle and there is a three-phase thermostat to warm coolant swifter. Because the water pump is driven by a timing chain rather than the usual poly-V-belt, a simplified belt drive system is used with less pinning force. The advantages: less loss of drive power. With a rated flow of four hundred twenty litres, the water pump conveys the equivalent of more than two utter bathtubs per minute.

An outer engine oil cooler in the front apron of the Mercedes-AMG GT helps with warmth management for the V8 engine. A two-stage, managed oil pump circulates the engine oil: it varies the flow rate depending on blast and engine speed requirement, thereby benefiting fuel economy. At high engine speeds more than 1.0 litre of engine oil per 2nd flows through the oil lines and ducts. To save on weight numerous oil and water lines are made of aluminium.

Sophisticated solutions are also deployed on the engine’s periphery:

• Separate cooling-air flow for the harass gas turbochargers under high thermal flow
• Active engine mounts for excellent lateral dynamics with no loss of convenience
• Auxiliary units efficiently powered by two brief, low-friction belts with four grooves. Intelligent positioning of auxiliary units virtually neutralises belt coerces on the crankshaft.
• Two-mass flywheel with centrifugal pendulum prevents torsional stimulation on the drive line for a sleek rail.
• ECO begin/stop function and alternator management to save fuel.

High-tech test benches for engines with over four hundred seventy kW

There are nine high-tech test stations in Affalterbach on which AMG engines with an output exceeding four hundred seventy kW and more than one thousand Nm go through dynamic testing. These test facilities are able to simulate a very broad range of road and environmental conditions to reproduce any conceivable type of operation. Cold or hot commencing, mountain passes, stop-and-go traffic or prompt laps on the North Loop of the Nürburgring – the engines are required to give their utmost. Even different intake air temperatures and densities can be computer managed.

Function and stamina benchtesting for the highest quality

The objective of the detailed bench tests is to verify the spectacle of all engine components, including the peripheral units. All measurement data for the engines examined is systematically compared and evaluated using reproducible test methods. The functional tests are accompanied by stamina testing. To ensure the very highest quality standards over their entire operating life, fresh AMG engines are required to fall under several thousand hours of stamina testing.

Extensive trials in every climatic zone on earth

At the same time the very first test engines go through intensive testing in practical trials. The standardised test programme at Mercedes-AMG includes all climatic zones and route profiles from the icy cold of northern Sweden to the without mercy warmth of Death Valley (USA), from quick laps on the North Loop of the Nürburgring and high-speed circuits in Nardo (Italy) and Papenburg to stop-and-go city traffic during rush hour. This programme makes the very highest requests on the day-to-day practicality, reliability and long-term durability of fresh generations of engine.

A tradition of hand-built excellence: “one man, one engine”

The AMG Four.0-litre, V8 biturbo engine is being made in Affalterbach according to the “one man, one engine” principle. In the AMG engine shop very qualified fitters assemble the high-performance engines by forearm according to the strictest quality standards. The fitter’s signature on the AMG engine plate attests to this sensational type of engine production and indicates maximum quality and technology transfer from motorsport – from Formula one and the DTM to customer sport activities in the SLS AMG GT3.

Long tradition of powerful AMG V8 engines

Powerful eight-cylinder engines are an inseparable part of Mercedes-AMG’s history. Established in 1967, the company caused a stir with the three hundred SEL 6.8 AMG which succeeded in taking 2nd place at the 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) in one thousand nine hundred seventy one for a class victory. The AMG racing saloon was technically based on the Mercedes-Benz three hundred SEL 6.Three with the M100 V8 engine. With an engine output of one hundred eighty four kW (250 hp) at four thousand rpm and a top speed of two hundred twenty km/h, this luxury saloon was Germany’s fastest regular production car at the time. Classic tuning as well as an enlarged displacement from six thousand three hundred thirty to six thousand eight hundred thirty five cc resulted in an increase in output to three hundred fifteen kW (428 hp) at five thousand five hundred rpm and in torque from five hundred to six hundred eight Nm.

Another significant engine in the AMG story was the M117, its very first eight-cylinder unit with a four-valve-per-cylinder design. With a displacement of Five.6 litres, two hundred sixty five kW (360 hp) and five hundred ten Nm of torque, this V8 accelerated the three hundred CE Five.6 AMG to a top speed of three hundred three km/h. In one thousand nine hundred eighty seven this made the coupé the fastest German car in series production, and American AMG fans reverently christened it “The Hammer”.

The supercharged AMG Five.5-litre V8 of two thousand one is another milestone in the history of AMG engine development: the M113 K delivered up to four hundred twenty eight kW (582 hp) and eight hundred Nm of torque. The supercharged AMG Five.5-litre V8 of the SLR McLaren dating from two thousand three was even more powerful – the M155 generated up to four hundred seventy eight kW (650 hp) and eight hundred twenty Nm.

2005 eyed the début of the naturally aspirated, high-revving AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine known as the M156, which developed up to three hundred eighty six kW (525 hp) and six hundred thirty Nm depending on the model.

Exclusively reserved for the SLS AMG, the likewise 6.3-litre M159 had a maximum output of four hundred twenty kW (571 hp) and maximum torque of six hundred fifty Nm. In the SLS AMG Coupé Black Series the M159 actually attained four hundred sixty four kW (631 hp).

The AMG Five.5-litre V8 biturbo M157 engine produces inbetween three hundred eighty six kW (525 hp) and four hundred thirty kW (585 hp) depending on the model, and a maximum torque of inbetween seven hundred and nine hundred Nm. M157 is regarded as the most efficient engine in its output and displacement class.

With a high specific output of one hundred twenty eight hp/litre and consumption of considerably less than ten litres/100 km (NEDC combined), the AMG Four.0-litre V8 biturbo engine leads the way in the long tradition of powerful V8 engines from Mercedes-AMG.

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