AMG has decided that it is possible to have too much horsepower… and has called for an end to the ongoing battle for bragging rights around the office water cooler. While there’s no guarantee that other manufacturers will follow suit, AMG is intending to blaze a new trail, that focuses less on massive outputs, and more on improving performance via alternate means.

So what does this mean for AMG then? It’s simple really:

“We are going to use other ways to extract better performance, including weight saving, engine optimization and alternative technologies.”

While we don’t want to see big power engines go the way of the dodo, we’re all for weight saving. Lets face it, the modern car has been steadily stacking on the kilos as manufacturers look to cram more technology, safety and luxury features into their products than ever before. AMG’s new focus will likely see it embrace new technologies emerging in the Mercedes’ range, including diesel, diesel-hybrids and smaller capacity engines. It may also see high-tech items like the SL63 AMG’s wet clutch gearbox filter down to the likes of the upcoming E63 AMG.

It is hard to imagine AMG, the manufacturer of some of the world’s most ‘over engined’ cars in recent history, taking a ‘less is more’ approach. Does this mean that the now famous ‘Spitfire’ sound track associated with the AMG Big Bangers, will be replaced with a whisper of diesel clatter, the strained tones of an overworked four-cylinder turbo, or just tyre roar, as an AMG hybrid whizzes past on battery power?

Unlikely we think. AMG might be calling an end to the horsepower war of recent times, but its idea of what constitutes enough horsepower, is likely to remain far more than is actually needed.