AMG GT 4 Door
Right now, AMG can do no wrong. On a wave of con idence it’s unleashing this, a four-door GT to terrify everyone from Aston Martin to Porsche
Inside the new high-performance super coupe
‘Everything you see from us – the hypercar, the GT – is considered; a piece of the puzzle,’ says AMG’s Tobias Moers. ‘Take the two-seat GT. We repositioned that car compared to the SLS before it. We’ve also extended the AMG portfolio, moving up with the hypercar and down with the AMG 43s. Previously we didn’t have the breadth or the volume. And now the GT 4-Door takes us in another direction. For now, it’s as luxurious as an AMG should be.’
Saloons are out, four-door coupes are in, and so the AMG GT 4-Door joins the line-up, just months after the new CLS. Unveiled at the recent Geneva show, this is the production version of last year’s GT Concept four-door and its take on modern high-performance luxury. With soaring sales, ongoing Formula 1 domination and a roadgoing hypercar set to require the creation of an entirely new dictionary of superlatives, right now AMG is charged with confidence. The car you see here – the snappily titled GT63 S 4MATIC+ 4-Door Coupe – is the manifestation of that confidence.
Based on a modified version of the MRA platform that underpins most of Mercedes’ rear-wheel-drive passenger cars and crossovers, and specifically the new third-generation CLS, the GT’s design uses no little alchemy to summon a handsome car from AMG’s established GT nose and the kind of subsequent volumes required to house four people in some comfort and with a door each.
‘For the first time we have transferred the AMG design DNA to a four-door model,’ says a proud Volker Hellwig, AMG’s head of design. ‘Characteristic elements include multi-beam headlamps, a shark-nose front end, our jet-wing front apron, slim LED tail lights and low-drag wheels. Completely new is the tapered greenhouse; sleek with a low roofline despite the large rear doors.’
In Gorden Wagener style, the GT’s fuselage is a pretty restrained affair, summoning its visual impact from fine proportions and stance. It’s also a shape that should lend itself well to being turned up or down, to full AMG menace and back to something more timeless and restrained.
‘The GT can be any car you like – a butch prowler in matt black with matching dark rims or a super-sleek boulevard cruiser with chrome accents and the body painted a friendly colour,’ says Hellwig. ‘The GT has its own wide-track front suspension as well as restyled front wings, sills and wheels, not to mention our trademark Panamericana grille.’4
To bend the passing air to its will, the GT features a low-flying front bumper, a multi-stage pop-up rear spoiler and a prominent rear diffuser. But it’s the wide-body, road-hugging stance that’ll send Toyota Priuses fleeing – that and the four fat exhausts that can switch between neighbour-friendly and hooligan-loud.
Engine options are limited to three at this point: the entry-level GT53 4Matic+, the 577bhp GT63 and the 196mph, 630bhp GT63 S 4Matic+ – the car you see here. It’s capable of launching to 62mph in 3.2sec; a triumph of brute force and traction over physics. While all are about as socially acceptable as a Cuban cigar in a no-smoking area, the 53 does at least employ a 48-volt hybrid system, with a buffer battery and a modest (22bhp) electric motor for zero-emission crawling and parking. The e-motor can also bolster torque by 184lb ft for a few seconds at a time, help eliminate turbo lag at low revs and restart the engine with velvet gloves when coasting. Of more interest might be the PHEV – AMG can relatively quickly pull one out of the bag should legislation or market forces require it.
Based around a 3.0-litre engine, this powertrain combines a 429bhp straightsix with a 48-volt system and a 200bhp e-motor. In total, that’s over 600bhp and around 660lb ft of torque, not to mention a zero-emission driving range of 60 miles. Says Tobias Moers: ‘As a performance car guy, I’m absolutely excited by hybrid powertrains. They give you more power, more performance, you’re faster on a racetrack and you’re more efficient – what’s wrong with that?’ Nothing, Tobias. Nothing whatsoever. A blunderbuss, then? There’s cause to think not. These days AMG’s chassis engineers are every bit as gifted as their friends in the engine department, with Affalterbach’s cars enjoying feel-some steering, strong body control and clearly telegraphed limits. The new GT also throws everything at the problem of getting a car this big and this fast to handle, from torque vectoring through variable-rate power steering to rear-wheel steering, as deployed so successfully on the range-topping GT R two-door. While the 63 and 63 S employ adjustable triple-chamber air suspension, the 53 will use steel springs mated to electronically controlled dampers.
And inside? Space – and lots of it. Yes, the arcing roofline is the stuff of nightmares for packaging engineers but there’s room enough here for four in comfort, and the chosen ones will be spoiled rotten in a cocoon of fine materials, twin-screen Comand infotainment and sufficient standout detailing to justify the entry fee. Expect to pay north of £110,000 for a car that, for AMG’s sake, needs to sit well clear of the fastest, most expensive CLS.
With the four-door GT’s arrival AMG marches on, expanding its portfolio in every direction and re-defining what’s possible for a sub-brand that, not too long ago, was so niche it made M Division look utterly mainstream.
IN TOTAL THE PHEV WILL SUMMON OVER 600BHP AND AROUND 660LB FT OF TORQUE