Mercedes-AMG GT 4dr

Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door £135,000 (est)

WE SAY: WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO CRACK OPEN A NEW NICHE? IN MERCEDESAMG’S OPINION, IT’S SIMPLE: APPLY BRUTE FORCE

Mercedes’ model range is still expanding with a near-viral rapidity. And now, someone has spied another distant but vacant niche – presumably using something akin to the Hubble telescope – and the result is the AMG GT four-door coupe. Welcome to the family supercar.

It’s only the third model developed entirely by AMG (following the SLS and GT), but the sharky nose, bonnet ‘powerdomes’ and, in the parlance of exterior designer Vitalis Enns, ‘fantastic ass’, give the GT four-door a sharper street presence than the Porsche Panamera or BMW M5.

Just don’t be fooled by that disingenuous name: the GT four-door uses the MRA platform that underpins the C-, E-, CLS and various other Mercedes, and therefore isn’t a GT four-door at all. But at least that allows it to run the 4Matic all-wheel-drive hardware, promoting daily usability in shabby weather over arrant hedonism. Good job, given it weighs 2,045kg. We’re focusing here on the 63S 4Matic+, powered by AMG’s magnificent 4.0-litre V8 bi-turbo, which delivers 630bhp and 627lb ft from 2,500 to 4,500rpm. If Ferrari’s 3.9-litre twin-turbo leads the way, this AMG unit is close in terms of zero-lag flexibility and charisma, its reworked twin-scroll turbos and twin-duct exhaust manifold enhancing efficiency, lowrev torque and, perhaps most noticeably, engine response. Performance is blistering, with 62mph blazing past in just 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 195mph, all overlaid by full-fat, non-turbo-ish old-school sonics.

That said, the four-door 63S is certainly easier to deal with than the GT coupe, swatting away surface noise and riding compliantly despite its hefty rubber (295/35s at the rear). It’s an able, amiable cruiser, but its darker side is liberated by a veritable tech arsenal.