Mercedes-Benz AMG GT63
REPORT 8
£135,550 OTR/£146,625 as tested/£2,090pcm
WHY IT’S HERE
Because the TG Garage must have an AMG V8 at all times
DRIVER
Rowan Horncastle
YOUR MECHANICAL SPIDEY SENSE IS HEIGHTENED IN THIS JOB – MAINLY through shuffling through so many cars. But also from blowing a few things up. And over the last few weeks, my spidey sense has been in overdrive.
See, the GT63 just hasn’t been feeling right. It has been a bit clunky and quite ‘un-Mercedes’. I know this because nowadays many AMGs share the same drivetrain, and, being a lucky sod who’s driven a few, I know what a good one feels like. And our 600bhp super-saloon isn’t one currently.
First off, there’s a really annoying squeaky rattle-thing on the rear passenger side. I’ve tried my best to identify what it is (jumped around on the sills, loaded the boot to the brim, sat in the back at various speeds) but had no luck. Also, the brakes have been exceedingly noisy; like the springs in the pads were rattling. Odd, considering the car hasn’t been driven that hard or tracked. Also, the gearbox has been unpleasantly shunting gears and isn’t half as smooth as a normal box in a 63. Finally, the entertainment has been a bit temperamental and laggy – a lot more so than the G63 we ran with exactly the same set-up. Oh, and some seat trim had fallen off.
So, to make sure I wasn’t going mad, I got dynamic sensei Ollie Marriage (he reads cars like braille) to have a go. He agreed it felt like it was put together in Affalterbach on a Friday afternoon, so Mercedes took it away for 10 days to try to sniff out the gremlins.
It’s returned having had all the brakes replaced (curing the squeal but seeming rather drastic for a car so soon into its life), had new rear tyres fitted as they were worn (my bad), repositioned the seat trims to try to get rid of the squeak (it’s still there, so I think it’s a damper), flashed the engine and transmission and updated the software, which has stopped the gearbox throwing the gears in like they’re a discus. Thankfully, now it’s a much more peaceful place to be. And what you’d want from a £150k ubersaloon.