Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door Coupe makes Geneva debut

Mercedes-Benz’s AMG performance car division has lifted the veil on its latest road-going model – the GT 4-door Coupe, revealing the top-of-the-line GT63 S 4Matic+ receives a 470kW version of the company’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine capable of propelling it to 100km/h in just 3.2sec and to a top speed of 315km/h.

Unveiled at the 2018 Geneva motor show prior to a planned start to Australian deliveries later this year, the Porsche Panamera rival follows the earlier SLS Coupe and Roadster and GT Coupe and Roadster as the fifth dedicated model from AMG.

Although the 4-door Coupe component in its name suggests the vehicle it is a sedan-cum-coupe model in the mould of the mechanically similar Mercedes-Benz CLS, it, in fact, takes its inspiration from the existing GT Coupe by featuring a fastback style tailgate that AMG chairman, Tobias Moers, says provides it with a “high level of day-to-day suitability”.  

The GT 4-door Coupe receives the choice of two petrol engines from the outset. Included is Mercedes-Benz’s new 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder unit in combination with a mild-hybrid system in the GT53 4Matic+ and AMG’s 4.0-litre V8 – the latter of which follows the example of existing AMG models by offering two distinctive states of tune in the GT63 4Matic+ and GT63 S 4Matic+.

As their names suggest, all three of the initial launch models feature a standard fully variable four-wheel drive system as revealed on the latest E63 4Matic+ along with a nine-speed automatic gearbox.

The basis for the family-friendly fastback is Mercedes-Benz’s MRA platform. A large proportion of its underpinnings, including its chassis, as well as its electrical architecture, is directly shared with the recently unveiled third-generation CLS and latest E-Class, alongside which the new AMG model will be produced at the German car maker’s Sindelfingen factory on the outskirts of Stuttgart, Germany.

Despite its mechanical similarities to the CLS and E-Class, however, AMG has brought its own unique touches to its latest model, including a longer front end with a larger engine bay to house a range of different engines, including the company’s signature V8 petrol unit, which has been denied in the new CLS due to what engineers cites as packaging reasons.

In the GT53 4Matic+, the new model receives 48-volt electrics. It is used to operate an electric motor that recovers kinetic energy under braking and during periods of off-throttle coasting as part of a so-called range of EQ Boost powertrains. The recuperated energy is stored in a lithium-ion battery and can be used to enhance performance through an electric boost function, as on the CLS53 4Matic.

Unlike the more advanced plug-in hybrid EQ Power system recently introduced to the S560e, though, it cannot propel the new AMG model on electric power alone.

The well-received styling of the earlier GT 4-door concept car revealed at last year’s Geneva motor show has been brought over to the production version of the new GT 4-door Coupe with only detailed changes. Certain cues evident in its exterior have been borrowed from the GT Coupe and Roadster in a move aimed at establishing a clear family look within the AMG line-up, most notably around the front and rear ends. However, the body of the new car is described as being totally unique, sharing no panel or element with any another Mercedes-AMG model.

Styled under the guidance of Mercedes-Benz design boss, Gorden Wagener, the AMG fastback adopts the smooth surfaced treatment already seen on the latest E-Class Coupe and third-generation CLS, foregoing the heavily structured look that has characterized the German car maker’s production models in recent years in favour of largely unadorned flanks boasting large wheelhouses that will enable buyers to option the new AMG with 21-inch wheels shod with a combination of 275/35 profile front and 315/30 profile rear tyres.

“The GT 4-door Coupe embodies the most extreme expression of our design idiom, and underlines the autonomous profile of AMG as a performance brand,” says Wagener.

The silhouette is dominated by a long bonnet that is set low and extends well back behind prominent front wheel houses in what Wagner describes as the “most aggressive dashboard to wheel” treatment yet seen on a four-seat Mercedes-Benz model yet.

The signature six corner Panamericana grille up front features vertical slats overlaid on top of a newly designed insert that is angled forward to give the front-end of the new AMG model an outwardly aggressive shark nose style appearance. Underneath the grille is a re-styled version of AMG’s so-called A-frame bumper complete with an integral central splitter element and three large cooling ducts.

Further back, the GT 4-door Coupe features four frameless doors, a fixed B-pillar and heavily rounded roofline. The side window graphic, meanwhile, picks up on the theme already seen on Mercedes-Benz’s more recent coupe models. Prominent haunches also endow the new AMG model with a Coke bottle effect towards the rear in a move aimed at providing with suitable visual muscle over the rear wheels.

Practicality concerns are addressed by lengthy rear doors. Their aperture runs well back over the sizeable rear wheel houses to aid entry to the rear.

The rear is dominated by a pair of thin, horizontally positioned tail lamps featuring a new graphic set to be adopted by the GT Coupe and Roadster as well as a complex diffuser integrated within the lower section of the rear bumper.

While AMG is yet to reveal the dimensions of the GT 4-door Coupe, officials suggest it is not only longer and wider than the CLS, but also lower, too.

As with its exterior, the interior of the new AMG model sports its own unique styling touches and four-seat layout. Among its central features is a new interpretation of Mercedes-Benz’s Widescreen Cockpit with dual high definition displays for the instruments and infotainment functions housed within a single panel set within a high positioned dashboard.

In a move that provides it with clear links to the GT Coupe and Roadster, the GT 4-door Coupe also receives a wide centre console and highly positioned centre tunnel that runs back through its luxuriously trimmed cabin.

The entry point to the new line-up is the GT53 4Matic+. It runs the same mild-hybrid driveline as that recently confirmed for the CLS53 4Matic, with a turbocharged 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder petrol engine developing 320kW and 520Nm torque at 1800rpm together with an electric motor capable of providing an additional 16kW and 250Nm – all channelled through a standard nine-speed AMG Speedshift TCT 9G torque converter-equipped automatic gearbox and fully variable AMG Performance 4Matic+ to all four wheels.

Weighing in at 1970kg, the GT53 4Matic+ is claimed to hit 100km/h from standstill in 4.5sec and reach a top speed of 285km/h. AMG also quotes combined cycle consumption of 9.1L/100km and average CO2 emissions of 209g/km.

By comparison, the CLS53 4Matic+ boasts the same 0-100km/h time and a limited 250km/h top speed along with a combined 8.7L/100km and 200g/km.

Further up is the 2025kg GT63 4Matic+. It receives AMG’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine with 430kW and 800Nm of torque at 2350rpm. Running a more advanced version of nine-speed AMG’s Speedshift with a wet clutch MCT set-up and AMG Performance 4Matic+ four-wheel drive, it boasts an official 0-100km/h time of 3.4sec and 310km/h top speed together with combined averages of 11.0L/100km and 252g/km.

The highlight of the initial range, though, is the 2045kg GT63 S 4Matic+. It runs the same engine as the GT63 4Matic+ tuned to deliver an extra 40kW and 100Nm at 470kW and a robust 900Nm at 2500rpm.  Running the same gearbox and four-wheel drive system as its less powerful sibling, it is claimed to reach 100km/h in just 3.2sec and achieve a top speed of 315km/h, making it the fast four-seater ever to wear the AMG badge. Combined consumption and CO2 emissions, meanwhile, are put at 11.2L/100km and 256g/km respectively.

While the GT 4-door Coupe will initially be sold with the choice of two gasoline engines, Moers hints other units are under development and planned for introduction during its planned six-year lifecycle.

Among them is a new performance-based version of AMG parent Mercedes-Benz’s latest EQ Power petrol-electric plug-in hybrid driveline that is slated to power a Porsche Panamera SE-Hybrid rivalling GT73 4Matic+ model – a trademark application for which as already been applied for by Mercedes-Benz’s legal department.   

As previewed by the GT Concept shown at the 2017 Geneva motor show, AMG’s plug-in hybrid driveline supplants the turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 gasoline engine used in standard versions of Mercedes-Benz’s EQ Power set-up, as seen on the S560e, with AMG’s turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine, in a move aimed at providing it with significantly greater power without any loss in range. Engineers suggest it has been conceived as a replacement for the company's traditional turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine.   

Nothing is official just yet, but figures revealed by Moers at the unveiling of the GT concept last year suggested the so-called EQ Power+ system could develop up to 600kW, while providing the GT73 4Matic+ with an electric range of up to 50km.

As well as being mooted for the range-topping GT 4-door Coupe model, the new petrol-electric driveline is also being considered for future incarnations of AMG-engineered E-, S, GLE, GLS and G-class models, according to Drive sources.

2018 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe Price and Specifications

Price: From $250,000 (estimated)

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo petrol/ 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol

Power: 320kW (GT53) / 430kW (GT63) / 470kW (GT63 S)

Torque: 520Nm (GT53) / 800Nm (GT63) / 900Nm (GT63 S)

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic, AWD

Fuel use: 9.L/100km (GT53) / 11.0L/100km (GT63) / 11.2L/100km (GT63 S)

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