View Photos of the 2023 Mercedes-AMG C43

The new C43 has a downsized 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine producing 402 hp thanks to an electric turbocharger. It replaces the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 that made 385 horsepower in the outgoing car.

The C43’s turbocharger uses an electric motor that can directly power its shaft. This reduces response delay and allows the turbine to keep spinning even with the engine off-throttle as a high-tech form of anti-lag.

AMG says that the turbocharger can also regenerate energy from high-speed exhaust gas flow, although it only does this for brief periods. More regeneration comes from the 48-volt belt-integrated starter-generator that adds hybrid contribution to the engine at lower speeds.

The new engine is effectively a north-south version of the transverse-mounted M139 turbo-four that powers AMG’s 45- and 35-branded models.

A nine-speed automatic gearbox features both a wet clutch in place of a torque converter to improve responses and a launch-control function. The standard all-wheel-drive system has a fixed 31:69 front-to-rear torque split.

AMG claims a 4.6-second time run to 62 mph for the C43. That seems pessimistic to us, as we ran the previous C43 coupe to the 60-mph benchmark in 4.1 seconds.

As with other AMG models the C43 comes with multiple dynamic modes.

In the U.S., 19-inch wheels will be standard with 20-inch rims an option. Adaptive dampers and an active rear-steering system are also included.