{"id":1760864,"date":"2026-02-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1760864"},"modified":"2026-02-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T21:00:00","slug":"goodbye-4cyl-the-mercedes-amg-glc-53-gets-a-high-revving-3-0-litre-straight-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1760864","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye 4cyl: the Mercedes-AMG GLC 53 gets a \u2018high-revving\u2019 3.0-litre straight-six"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is the new Mercedes-AMG GLC 53. It is a performance SUV \u2013 because of course it is \u2013 featuring a heavily revised version of AMG\u2019s 3.0-litre turbo petrol engine. There is much power. Modes. And more\u2026 cylinders.<\/p>\n

Yes folks, it\u2019s a hearty farewell to AMG\u2019s largely unloved 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit that saw service in the GLC 43 and GLC 63 (in various outputs, of course). Replacing both of those cars in the HotGLC lineup is this \u201ccomprehensively redeveloped\u201d 3.0-litre straight-six petrol unit with \u201ca strong appetite for revs\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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AMG has gone to (party) town on it, too. There\u2019s a new cylinder head with improved intake and exhaust ports, a new intake cam, a new intake system that\u2019s bigger, and a new intercooler. The turbo gets 1.5 bar of boost, while the electric compressor \u201ccan now operate almost continuously for a longer period\u201d.<\/p>\n

As a result of this AMG-tweakery, total power now sits at 443bhp and 443lb ft, rising to 472lb ft in overboost. That\u2019s sent to a nine-speed \u2018Speedshift\u2019 auto \u2018box and fully variable all-wheel-drive to allow for a 0-62mph time of just 4.2s and a limited top speed of 155mph.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Naturally, there are modes \u2013 slippery, comfort, sport, sport+, individual \u2013 and it\u2019s able to completely decouple the front axle when your pants aren\u2019t on fire to make it a rear-drive-only GLC. There\u2019s an e-diff on the back axle (and rear-axle steering) for the first time, too, and a starter-generator snuggled inside the gearbox for start-stop goodness and a bit of additional boost.<\/p>\n

Brakes? Big ones, measuring 390mm up front with four-piston calipers bolted over them. The rears are 360mm units with single piston calipers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Noise? A big one, apparently. \u201cThe powerful and emotional engine sound is further enhanced by a new exhaust system,\u201d says AMG. \u201cThe characteristic crackling on throttle lift-off creates goosebump moments, as do AMG typical misfires and the bassy sound during strong acceleration.\u201d<\/p>\n

AMG will offer a \u2018Golden Accents\u2019 pack for the first year of the GLC 53\u2019s life, which \u2013 surprise! \u2013 adds detailing in \u2018techgold\u2019, while the \u2018Night Package\u2019 adds high gloss black here and there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the new GLC 53, our goal was to make its Affalterbach DNA even more tangible \u2013 with more emotion, more character, and even more fun to drive,\u201d said AMG boss Michael Schiebe. \u201cTo achieve this, we have significantly upgraded our six-cylinder engine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does this mean the C63 will also bin the largely unloved 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid unit and get this \u201ccomprehensively redeveloped\u201d 3.0-litre straight-six petrol? Hmm\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the new Mercedes-AMG GLC 53. It is a performance SUV \u2013 because of course it is \u2013 featuring a heavily revised version of AMG\u2019s 3.0-litre turbo petrol engine. There is much power. Modes. And more\u2026 cylinders. Yes folks, it\u2019s a hearty farewell to AMG\u2019s largely unloved 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit that saw service in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-1760864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1760864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1760864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1760864\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1760864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1760864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1760864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}