What's the news?
Mercedes-AMG has revealed the glorious four-door GT Coupe to the world at the Geneva Motor Show, following several teasers in concept form. This is the third model developed entirely in-house by Mercedes-AMG, following on from the brutal SLS and current GT, and it's the first AMG-specific model to come with four doors and four big, useable seats.
Exterior
The Mercedes-AMG GT four-door Coupe (that's its full, correct title) looks like precisely what it is - a cross between the new CLS and the existing, two-door AMG GT family. So much so that the styling from the nose backwards is almost identical to the CLS, while at the back it has the very slim light clusters and dropped number plate of the GT.
But if you're wondering why Mercedes, as a wider company, would offer both the CLS and this too - given the CLS will likely get a storming '63 S' model in the fullness of time - then it's important to note the distinction between AMG-badged models of the regular Mercedes-Benz world and pure Mercedes-AMGs. So, while the AMG V8 gets slotted into everything from the C-Class upwards, conversely the GT four-door Coupe will not have anything less than a full AMG powerplant; there will be no diesels and no cooking four-cylinder petrol engines, for instance.
Interior
The aim of the four-door AMG GT is to satisfy those in the sports car segment 'looking for a vehicle for day-to-day use but unwilling to go without the unparalleled performance of Mercedes-AMG'. With four doors and a fastback, it is obviously much more practical than the two-seat vehicles the company has put out before and there's a large amount of legroom in the back. Up front, twin 12.3-inch screens that are fully configurable give the AMG four-door GT the widescreen cockpit appearance and there are eight 'black panel' switches running down the transmission tunnel that are deeply cool.
Mechanicals
Rectifying the strange situation where, in the world of all AMG models with the 4.0-litre biturbo V8, the bonkers Mercedes-AMG GT R has less grunt than the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S, the GT four-door Coupe now has the most potent 4.0 V8 of all.
But things kick off with the 53-badged hybrid model, the Mercedes-AMG GT 53 Coupe 4Matic+. Its 3.0-litre turbocharged engine, augmented by an electric auxiliary compressor, delivers peak outputs of 435hp at 6,100rpm and 520Nm from 1,800- to 5,800rpm. But with the EQ Boost of the hybrid electrical system, another 22hp and a whopping 250Nm can be dropped in the mix. That means the GT 53 can do 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds and run on to a 285km/h top speed, thanks to 4Matic+ all-wheel drive with fully variable torque distribution and an AMG Speedshift TCT 9G nine-speed gearbox. Despite weighing 1,970kg, the hybrid tech means the 53 uses 9.1 litres/100km (31mpg) and emits 209g/km of CO2 emissions.
Moving up to V8 power, as befits an AMG, as with many cars to issue forth from Mercedes' go-faster arm there are two levels of power from the 4.0-litre 'hot inside V' twin-turbo motor - the AMG GT 63 without an S and then the AMG GT 63 (with an) S. Yet even the first of these is fearsomely powerful. It delivers 585hp from 5,500- to 6,500rpm, with 800Nm at 2,350- to 5,000rpm. Equipped with the same 4Matic drive as the 53 and an MCT nine-speed gearbox too, the 2,025kg GT 63 rips off 0-100km/h in a ferocious 3.4 seconds and will run on to 310km/h. Its best eco-stats are 11 litres/100km (25.7mpg) combined consumption and 252g/km CO2.
Even that Mercedes-AMG GT four-door, though, must cede superiority to the almighty GT 63 S. As already stated, it has the most powerful iteration of this 4.0-litre V8 yet seen, rated at 639hp from 5,500- to 6,500rpm and backed up by 900Nm from 2,500- to 4,500rpm. It has a Drift Mode built into its 4Matic+ software and it weighs 20kg more than the 585hp 63, but that doesn't stop the S knocking in a phenomenal 3.2-second 0-100km/h sprint and recording a 315km/h top speed. There's not even a huge penalty to pay in terms of green data by stepping up the 54hp/100Nm from the 63 to the S, as the ultimate GT four-door Coupe uses 11.2 litres/100km (25.2mpg) and emits 256g/km CO2 - and if you fit the 585hp version with the biggest optional wheels possible, its economy/emissions numbers slip to exactly the same level as the 639hp S.
Anything else?
"The new AMG GT four-door Coupe combines the impressive race-track dynamism of our two-door sports cars with a high level of day-to-day suitability," said Mercedes-AMG's boss, Tobias Moers. "It embodies our brand claim of 'Driving Performance' in a unique way and will attract new customers to Mercedes-AMG with its systematic configuration."