Engines are getting smaller. There's nothing we can do about that. But that doesn't mean they can't get more powerful. Just look at what ze Germans have been doing. Where the previous BMW M5, for example, had a V10, the new one has a twin-turbo V8. Ditto the Audi RS6 Avant. But what about Mercedes? Benz may have seemed the last holdout, sticking to its 6.3-liter V8 like a homesick kid to his mother at summer-camp drop-off. But that doesn't mean AMG doesn't see the writing on the wall.

It's been slowly weaning itself off the big-bore V8 in favor or a turbo 5.5, but the next stage in the downsizing at Affalterbach could be a 4.0-liter turbo V8. The engine is essentially twice the 2.0-liter turbo four developed for the new A45 AMG, producing between 450 and 600 horsepower depending on application - and there will be several. First is said to be the next C63 AMG, which will for the first time (and like its big brother, the upcoming 2014 E63 AMG) offer all-wheel drive. Following that, the new engine is tipped to power the new SLC sportscar, a smaller counterpart to the SLS AMG set to target the Porsche 911.