F1 tech for the road

MEET THE MGU-H (MOTOR GENERATOR UNIT – HEAT)

THE ELECTRIC AGE will see the demise of the internal combustion engine, but it will help send it off with a bang by revolutionising modern turbocharging. Even in 310kW A45 guise, AMG has done exceptionally well to minimise lag with its M139 2.0-litre thanks to a twin-scroll single turbo and taking an almost militant approach to reducing the distance exhaust and intakes gases have to travel. But in the new C63 that ascends to another level with the 6kW e-motor. Running off a 400-volt electrical system, the tiny-but-mighty electric motor is built into the turbocharger itself, acting directly on the compressor/turbine shaft and spinning it up at low engine speeds before exhaust gases can take over, and keeping the turbo on the boil off-throttle. The result? “Lightning fast response, more agile than a naturally aspirated V8,” claims AMG. The electric motor can even scavenge energy from the spinning turbo and feed it back into the electrical system, recharging the battery. Clever stuff.