Pour one out for the charismatic V-8 engines that have made the Mercedes-AMG C63 such a rowdy sports sedan. They will be missed. Now make way for the 2024 C63 S E-Performance, which goes on sale next year sporting an elaborate four-cylinder plug-in-hybrid system good for a combined 671 horsepower. Traditionalists may not be happy, but short of stealing one of the company’s AMG One hypercars, this is as close as mere mortals are likely to get to experiencing a Formula 1–inspired powertrain on the street.

Pop the C63’s hood, and the source of the car’s fire and brimstone is revealed to be a longitudinally mounted 2.0-liter turbo four that produces an absurd 234.5 horsepower per liter—469 in total, or the same as the outgoing C63’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 made in standard tune. That power comes with no discernible lag, thanks to an electric motor on the shaft connecting the turbocharger’s compressor and turbine wheels. Powered by a 400-volt electrical architecture, which also runs a belt-driven starter-generator, the motor helps spin the turbo to 150,000 rpm almost instantly, generating up to an insane 37.7 psi of boost. While the loss of the previous model’s thunderous V-8 acoustics is indeed sad, the raspy thrum of this new M139l four-banger does sound fierce at its 6750-rpm power peak, even when you choose to amplify it through the speakers inside and outside the car.

The grunt from this hand-assembled four routes to AMG’s nine-speed…