Video: take a closer look at the incredibly complex Mercedes-AMG C63 S

It’s a car of massive, mighty numbers, the new Mercedes-AMG C63. Take the power outputs: 680 metric horsepower (or 670bhp), and a frankly baffling 752lb ft of torque. Welcome to a world where a Mercedes C-Class has more power than a Ferrari Enzo.

Yet it’ll also do a claimed 34 miles per gallon and emit just 156g/km of CO2 – about the same as a Golf GTI. And that’s because instead of a thumping great V8, the C63 now has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, and F1-inspired hybrid boost under its nostrilled bonnet.

80 per cent of the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo engine is carried over from the mad, bad A45 S hot hatch. What’s new is an electric motor for spooling up the turbo. This is designed to eliminate turbo lag and increase output – and means a relatively tiny engine generates 460bhp. That’s almost as much as you used to get from the old 6.2-litre V8…

AMG claims 0-62mph happens in 3.4 seconds, and the top speed is limited to 174mph. Very fast, no doubt – but the current BMW M3 is just as quick, despite having ‘only’ 503bhp.

The right call? Something tells us this is 2022’s most divisive new fast car. Top Gear Magazine’s Senior Road Tester, Ollie Kew, tells us everything we need to know.