Mercedes-AMG C 63 VUK Has The Widebody We Want With The V8 It Deserves

Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E Performance is technically incredible. The little 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine inside makes 451 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque all on its lonesome. Mercedes then combines it with electric motors to make 671 hp and 752 lb-ft of torque, with all of that power sent to all four wheels. Unfortunately, people just aren’t into it. It seems that AMG buyers aren’t interested in paying more money for fewer cylinders and a higher-pitched exhaust note. It’s so bad that it seems as though Mercedes itself is looking at having a few more pistons for related models and successors. If you can’t wait for Mercedes to come up with an alternative, a tuner called Vuk Manufaktur might be able to help you out. The company has already worked out how to swap a V8 into the C63, and its latest creation adds some unique styling.
 

Authentic Styling With An In-Authentic Engine
Mercedes aficionados will notice pretty quickly that this new Vuk Manufaktur model takes styling cues from one of the most famous Mercedes sports sedans, the 190E Evolution II. That’s definitely intentional, since Vuk calls their car the EVO X, not to be confused with the last of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions. The original Evo II was designed as a homologation special for touring car duty, and it had a seriously outrageous widebody kit and rear wing, which the EVO X has, too. It even uses the same teardrop-shaped fender flares and boxy wing, rather than a more modern wing with centrally-located supports. The six-spoke wheels are another tribute to the classic sedan. The example that Vuk shared on its Instagram page gets a dash of modernity with a Mercedes-Benz Petronas F1-inspired color scheme in silver and teal. Translating a straight-edged ’80s machine to a curvy modern-day one is no easy feat, and Vuk seems to have done a nice job with it.
 
For many buyers, though, the main attraction will be the V8 under the hood. Vuk doesn’t give many details, but it’s most definitely one of AMG’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8s. This isn’t the first car Vuk has done a swap with, having shared a swapped C 63 back in February. That vehicle, according to an Instagram video by AzizDrives and shared by Vuk, made 612 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque, so we would expect this EVO X to make at least as much, though output is one of those missing details. Astute readers will note that those numbers are less than the four-cylinder hybrid, but EVO X customers are surely willing to sacrifice a bit of ultimate power for V8 rumble. Vuk did change the badging to proclaim to the world that the EVO X now features a twin-turbo V8, and those badges also include the 4Matic branding for the Mercedes-Benz all-wheel-drive system. So we also presume that the car still powers all four wheels.
 

The irony, though, of combining Evo II looks with V8 power, is that the original Evo II did not have a V8. It actually had a four-cylinder, just like the production C63 S E Performance. Of course, that car lacked both electric motors and turbochargers. The Evo II’s engine did have a bit more displacement, though, at 2.5 liters, and with just atmospheric pressure feeding it, it made 232 hp. That doesn’t sound like much, but that, along with its 7,700-rpm redline, was quite impressive in 1990.
 
Vuk Isn’t Making Many
Vuk has a website where you can register your interest in purchasing an EVO X. That site notes that it’s only going to build 63 examples. The site is otherwise quite barren, and it also lacks any information about pricing or when customers can expect their vehicles. Odds are that both aspects will vary depending on how much the customer wants to modify the car. Our guess is that if you don’t have a huge bank account and some patience, this won’t be the car for you.