Report: All upcoming Mercedes S-Class vehicles - including AMG - to be hybridized

Automotive News is reporting that all upcoming Mercedes-Benz S-Class models will switch over to hybrid power. The news outlet cites Mercedes dealers as the source of the information, but would not disclose identities. This report confirms a story we broke a while back, but Automotive News takes it a step further by reporting that even the vaunted performance model AMGs will be part of the hybrid conversion.

Mercedes is expected to roll out the new S-Class beginning in late 2012, with all model variants introduced by 2014. The current S-Class has but one hybrid offering, the S400 Hybrid. The S400 Hybrid sports a 295 horsepower engine and manages to return 30 percent improved fuel efficiency over its V8 stablemate and 50 percent better efficiency than its V12 stablemate.

Before you cringe over AMG models going hybrid, think about some other high-performance hybrids such as the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid or even the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, both amazingly quick hybrids that post more than respectable numbers. Don't forget about the BMW X6 ActiveHybrid, which has an earth-shattering 575 pound-feet of torque.

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[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]