Mercedes Takes a Bite Out of the Luxury Electric GT Market
We announced some details of the new Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door back in March, and now Mercedes have issued the full specs and details.
Insane Specs
The headline figures are the GT has up to 1,168 PS driving all four wheels thrusting the car from 0-62 mph in a rocket-like 2.1 seconds. Insane power equals insane speeds. And overtaking should be like engaging warp drive with 2,000 Nm of torque under that right-hand peddle.
Top speed is limited to 186 mph (300 km/hr) with the optional Driver’s pack.
Charging and Battery
Charging speeds are extremely fast thanks to 800v architecture with DC charging topping out at 600 KW, adding a huge 285 miles of range - or 70 kWh of energy - in just 10 minutes (if you can find an ultra-rapid charger that can deliver that much power).
It also takes just 5 minutes to replenish the battery with 41 kWh, which should add around 167 miles of range.
All of that equates to a 10% to 80% rapid charge taking just 11 minutes.
The battery capacity is 106 kWh usable giving it a range of 370 - 432 miles on the WLTP test cycle, and depending on how its driven, and which driving mode is being used - more on that later.
Ride and Handling
The AMG GT 4-Door defines what a GT car is with an abundance of luxury on display inside - and plenty of storage from a 507 litre boot, plus a 62 litre front trunk - long distance touring should be a breeze thanks to its 5,094 mm long body and 3,040 wheelbase ironing out the roads, as well as AMG ACTIVE RIDE CONTROL suspension with semi-active roll stabilisation absorbing the worst that the roads can deliver, whilst adapting to any condition.
Although prices are yet to be announced, Mercedes will launch two versions called the Mercedes-AMG GT 55 4-Door Coupé and the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 4-Door Coupé, with the latter being slightly quicker.
Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz Group AG said “I’ve driven the new AMG GT 4-Door Coupé myself many times – and it genuinely stands out. It pushes performance to new limits and delivers the emotion our fans expect – now in the electric era. From my time at AMG, I know how high the bar is set in Affalterbach. With this first model on the new AMG.EA architecture, we don’t just meet it, we move it.”
Confident words indeed when Mercedes supports this by claiming the GT 4‑Door Coupé is “a masterpiece of engineering. A multitude of innovations and world firsts offer customers more high performance, emotion, and driving pleasure than ever before”.
Styling
Back in March we reported on the glitzy and glam interior of the new AMG GT 4-Door with it’s exquisite use of materials, but at that point there were no exterior pictures available, until now.
The light bar that flows into the headlights has a resemblance to Smart #3, with the lower grille section styled like a Piranha hunting its prey with it’s razor teeth at the ready. The lights reflect scowling eyes that look down and directly at its target from a slightly bowed head.
This gestures dominance. It may not be subtle, nor attractive, but it is a statement piece with aggressive, powerful, dominant intent.
Overall, the body is slung low like a proper GT Coupe with a feint nod to a Porsche Taycan in its profile with rear haunches sculpting themselves towards the rear.
Around the back the trending light bar sits atop the boot lid like a handlebar moustache with six red Mercedes star emblem lights sat underneath - three on each side of the main Mercedes emblem - shrouded by a large black design element that mimics a grille.
Driving
Mercedes has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure the GT 4-Door appeals to the die-hard petrolhead customers with claimed V8 driving excitement programmed in.
Mercedes achieves this with what it calls AMGFORCE S+ mode, with the GT 4‑Door Coupé delivering an alleged highly authentic, AMG V8 sound, with a haptic-immersive experience including traction interruption during simulated gear changes.
The aim is to make it feel and sound like it’s a high-power V8 car, when the AMGFORCE S+ mode is activated.
For the more hard-core drivers the dynamics of the GT 4‑Door Coupé can be tailored to individual driving styles with response, traction, and cornering behaviour that can be precisely adjusted, so the driving style and dynamics will personalise the car for each owner.
This is one of the 7 driving dynamic options available - Comfort, Sport, AMGFORCE Sport+, RACE, Slippery, Individual and for the first time at Mercedes-AMG, also Eco.
These are selected from a round rotary-push switch in the centre console with each drive programme offering different driving experiences by changing the parameters for accelerator response, suspension tuning, steering, ESP®, sound, and recuperation, with the latter also adjustable via the the steering-wheel paddles.
Comfort: The standard mode for everyday driving and long trips, great for driving efficiently and effortlessly. Think of it in terms of ‘Waft Mode’ as it adjusts the powertrain, adding a gentle response to the accelerator with suspension dialled in for comfort and a standard ride height.
Sport: Typical AMG driving dynamics with high performance and easy control for spirited driving. Prioritising performance over efficiency and comfort. The accelerator gets a sharper response, and suspension is firmed up with the ride height lowered.
AMGFORCE Sport+: Mercedes claims this “delivers an extroverted, powerful AMG V8 experience”. It also introduces noticeable faux gearshift changes, an AMG V8 sound (inside and out), with the drivers display adapting.
Customer will be able to complete faux manual gear changes via the steering-wheel paddles for all nine fake gears, that are executed to mimic manual car characteristics.RACE: Specifically tuned for racetrack use to achieve the best lap times, Mercedes has developed this mode for driving on closed circuits.
mercedes says “special racetrack features such as the AMG RACE ENGINEER Control Unit are fully available. Driver assistance systems are optimally adapted. Via AMG TRACK PACE, drivers can access Drift Mode, Drag Race, or Track Race”.
There is lots of detail in this mode, all of which is designed for race track thrills.Slippery: Provides maximum traction on low-grip surfaces, such as rain, snow, ice, oer wet leaves. The all-wheel drive system remains active with understeer-oriented handling and low steering effort, The accelerator response is set to ‘gentle’ for better control.
Eco: Does what it says in the tin and targets maximum range to reduce charging stops. Driving behaviour compromises achieve maximum efficiency with reduced power, torque and top speed.
Additionally, the car runs in rear-wheel-drive mode, but the suspension lowers the ride height to reduce drag and improve range.Individual: Allows personal selection of all adjustable parameters as described above.
Prices, order and delivery dates are yet to be confirmed.
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About the Author
Graeme Cobb is a lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for writing about cars, EVs, industry updates and more.
You can find Graeme on 𝕏 at @graeme_cobb or YouTube @REV-EV.