PLANE AND SIMPLE FLAT-PLANE VS. CROSS-PLANE V8s

After years of producing high-performance V8 engines – some normally aspirated and some turbocharged but all admired for their rumbling exhaust notes – the announcement in 2020 by then AMG boss Tobias Moers that the forthcoming Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series would feature a flat-plane crankshaft created quite a stir.This was a first for AMG and the reaction was not dissimilar to that of a few years earlier when Ford launched the Mustang Shelby GT 350 featuring a 5,2-litre engine with a flat-plane crankshaft as the performance flagship model in the range. Brochures and marketing material at the time made references to Ferraris and racing engines, while a redline of 8 250 r/min clearly differentiated it from other established American performance machinery.

History shows that all early V8s featured flat-plane crankshafts, not for performance reasons but because they were easier