CLS 53 coming to replace the 63

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Debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show last month, the 2019 Mercedes-Benz CLS 450 gave no hint of a future AMG version. Automotive News though reports that a CLS 53 is on the way to replace the former 63.

The head of AMG Tobias Moers told that the 53 will see the light of day towards the end of 2018. The performance model would be powered by a more potent version of the new turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six engine and also benefit from the presence of the company’s latest 48-volt electrical system and of that of the EQ Boost electric motor. The exact power is yet to be disclosed, but Moers tells there will “for sure be in the 400s”, with Automotive News predicting 430 horsepower exactly. The figure goes higher than the one of the twin-turbo V6 powered AMG 43 models. The E-Class Coupe and the Cabriolet, as well as the GLE, will spring AMG 53 variants, Moers pledges.

The Affalterbach-based power house is ruling out the CLS 63 because it plans to make room to breathe for its future four-door Mercedes-AMG GT4, rumored to be marketed as the GT4. Both the CLS and the GT4 would be coupe-like sedans based on the same platform as the E-Class, but the company is planing to position the GT4 in the sportier department, placing the AMG twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 under its bonnet.

The CLS 53 might make its debut at the year’s first auto show in Detroit. The AMG GT4 still takes time, expected to hit the showrooms in 2019.

Check out what are changes AMG is planning to make:

A 35 on the way, S 65 on the go, AMG boss hints