The new C63 represents a massive step-change for the model. Consigned to the history books is the old V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive platform and in its place a turbocharged four-cylinder engine sending power to all four wheels.

But it’s not just any old turbo-four doing the bulk of the heavy lifting in the new C63. No. According to Mercedes, the M139 four-pot is the most powerful four-cylinder engine ever to make its way into a production car. On its own, it makes 350kW and 545Nm, but when paired with a 150kW/320Nm electric motor at the rear axle, the C63 turns into something else altogether.

Yes, that’s right, the new C63 is a plug-in petrol-hybrid, one capable of, when all the elements come together in a petro-electrical dance, delivering an astonishing 500kW and slightly bonkers 1020Nm when the wick is fully turned up via the C63’s ‘Boost’ mode. It makes the 375kW/700Nm of the outgoing twin-turbo V8 seem quaint.