Photo: Daimler AG
When it was first introduced on the Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG in 2013, the M133 engine was presented as the world's most powerful four-cylinder engine in production.
With no less than 360 hp and 450 Nm (332 lb ft) of torque from a displacement of just two liters, mainly thanks to a rather large twin-scroll turbocharger that gives a boost of up to 1.8 bar (26 psi), it makes the A 45 AMG and its two “45 AMG” brothers the most powerful in their segment by far.
A little over a year later, the bonkers powerplant is still up there when it comes to the power output, but there are some rumors that it could soon be dethroned by the engine in the upcoming Audi RS3, with the compact premium segment to become a bit more crowded in the following years.
In case any of you are worried, you might want to learn that the skunkworks engineers from Mercedes-AMG GmbH aren't sitting still, and an even more power variant of the M133 could very well be in the works.
How much powerful, you ask? Well, try at least 408 hp, a figure which is nowadays easily achieved by Stage 1 M133 engines with a simple ECU flash. Before you jump and scream “Speculation!” you might also want to learn that this figure comes straight from Tobias Moers, the current head honcho at Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
When asked about the future of the M133 four-cylinder, Tobias smiled and said: “At the moment we've reached 265 kW (360 hp, ed), but maybe at some point there will be a three in front of that.”
For those not familiar with kW, a 300 kW output would translate into 408 hp, while 365 kW is 496 hp. We're not as optimistic as to believe that AMG would ever release a close to 500 hp A-Class, but the lower number seems rather appropriate, despite the fact that the current model is far from being regarded slow anyway.
Actually, we recently got a short drive in a stock A 45 AMG and the amount of insanity of the current M133 engine blew us away, so anything more than should be downright supercar-territory.
A little over a year later, the bonkers powerplant is still up there when it comes to the power output, but there are some rumors that it could soon be dethroned by the engine in the upcoming Audi RS3, with the compact premium segment to become a bit more crowded in the following years.
In case any of you are worried, you might want to learn that the skunkworks engineers from Mercedes-AMG GmbH aren't sitting still, and an even more power variant of the M133 could very well be in the works.
How much powerful, you ask? Well, try at least 408 hp, a figure which is nowadays easily achieved by Stage 1 M133 engines with a simple ECU flash. Before you jump and scream “Speculation!” you might also want to learn that this figure comes straight from Tobias Moers, the current head honcho at Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
When asked about the future of the M133 four-cylinder, Tobias smiled and said: “At the moment we've reached 265 kW (360 hp, ed), but maybe at some point there will be a three in front of that.”
For those not familiar with kW, a 300 kW output would translate into 408 hp, while 365 kW is 496 hp. We're not as optimistic as to believe that AMG would ever release a close to 500 hp A-Class, but the lower number seems rather appropriate, despite the fact that the current model is far from being regarded slow anyway.
Actually, we recently got a short drive in a stock A 45 AMG and the amount of insanity of the current M133 engine blew us away, so anything more than should be downright supercar-territory.
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