AMG will kill off its top-shelf V-12 engine option as the company views such engines as best suited to pure luxury vehicles. Mercedes itself will continue to sell vehicles with V-12s, limited exclusively to Maybach models. According to Mercedes-AMG CEO Tobias Moers, the company's 6.0-liter V-12 is still capable enough for future vehicles, but not at the high-performance power levels needed to meet AMG's stratospheric demands.

"There is still demand for a V-12, but if you move forward with a V-12 in the future, the investment will be too high, in my perspective," Moers told Automotive News at the New York Auto Show. "You have to increase power, and you have to move forward with the technology in that engine. We'd better invest our money into electrified V-8 vehicles." Already, the company has begun to phase out its vaunted 65-series of models. The Mercedes-AMG G65 Final Edition will be the final variant of G-class SUV available with a V12 as there are no plans for a similar variant for the redesigned model. Additionally, the SL65 is all but confirmed dead, with official word due this June.

That leaves the S-Class. It's due for a redesign in 2020, meaning the V12 powered S65 AMG will be around slightly longer than its siblings. Maybach models will continue to be powered by an AMG-engineered and built V12. AMG also builds V12s for Pagani, but this announcement is unlikely to affect the bespoke version of its V12 that AMG builds asspecialfavor to Horacio Pagani. Like rivals, AMG will need to factor in electrification to hit the massive performance targets expected from the brand. The obvious choice is to augment the company's wonderful new 4.0-liter V8, which already makes 630 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque in the AMG GT 63 S four-door.