Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe first drive: Where tech and fun collide

The night before I drove the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, I complained to a group of journalists that automakers don’t want to take chances and just build fun, weird cars anymore. About 12 hours later, Mercedes made me eat my words. Outside of all the bombastic extravaganza of the Los Angeles launch, the first true AMG powered exclusively by batteries is a technological triumph that’s as comfortable on the track as it is on the street. And it’s really very good on the track.

Triforce

One of the fundamental problems with EVs is weight. Batteries are heavy, and the old rule about an object in motion tending to stay in motion makes the notion of nimble cornering a difficult engineering problem. Mercedes loves an engineering problem, and after two days behind the wheel of the AMG GT EV, the company has mostly reduced the battery-weight tax that mires EV performance.

On the road and on the track, the vehicle is firmly planted to the roadway. Mercedes says various technologies make this possible. In addition to decades of producing high-performance vehicles, the automaker’s AMG.EA sports-car architecture does a lot of heavy lifting here, constantly adjusting power delivery from the three motors while guiding the Active Ride Control suspension, steering—including up to six degrees at the rear axle—and active aerodynamics to deliver the performance AMG customers have come to expect from a vehicle with the Affalterbach badge on the hood.

Of the technology added to the vehicle, the axial flux motors are the most intriguing. Three motors offer a lighter, smaller powertrain that unlocks a host of abilities: two that are 3.1 inches (79 mm) wide in the back, one that’s 3.5 inches (89 mm) wide in the front. Produced by Yasa, which Mercedes bought in 2021, the motors output up to 1,153 hp (860 kW) of peak power in the AMG GT 63, with a nominal output of 711 hp (530 kW) and 1,475 lb-ft (2,000 Nm). During Boost mode, the additional horsepower is available for 63 seconds. Because it’s the AMG GT 63, obviously.

The AMG GT 55’s Boost mode lasts for 55 seconds with a peak output of  805 hp (634 kW). The 55’s nominal output is 557 hp (415 kW)  and 1,372 lb-ft (1,860 Nm) of torque. I was able to use the Boost modes of both trim levels multiple times in a row without issue. Indeed, zero to 60 mph (97 km/h) takes about 2.3 seconds and zero to 124 mph (200 km/h) around 6.8 seconds.

Which means on track you can arrive at a corner going really quite fast.

Thankfully, the AMG GT’s speed can be tamed with regenerative braking and hydraulic brake-by-wire friction brakes: carbon ceramic discs at the front and steel ones at the rear. The system offered incredible stopping power when I decided to push the vehicle on the track and hit the brakes far too late for a tight left-hand corner. The deceleration was solid even as the vehicle was cresting a hill when I applied the brakes.

For drivers looking for an extreme amount of control over their vehicle, there’s the AMG race engineer control system (standard on the 63, optional on the 55) that consists of three dials in the center console: Response, Agility, Traction. They all go up to nine, which is a shame because they could have added two more levels of control. At one, the settings are essentially for new drivers who really shouldn’t be behind the wheel of this vehicle. At nine, everything is turned up to (well, I’d like to say 11) the limit, and it’s a great way to fully unleash everything the vehicle has to offer and spend the day melting tires and struggling to keep the vehicle pointed forward around corners.

On the track, they had us dial it up to seven, which loosened up the rear end and increased throttle response to a level where we easily broke traction at the rear. Regardless of skill level, it’s a fun tool for track days where you can dial in exactly how you want the vehicle to respond.

Charging forward

Mercedes has moved to an 800 V system with the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe (yes, it’s a long name, but it distinguishes it from the current V8-powered AMG GT). The electrical architecture offers increased efficiencies and quicker charging, but because this is an AMG GT and it’s the automaker’s halo electric vehicle, they’ve decided to push the boat out and enable it to DC fast charge at up to 600kW. In a demo, one of the track AMG GT 63 vehicles hit a peak of 637 kW. At 60 percent state of charge, the car was drawing about 400 kW, and at 79 percent it was still pulling 252 kW. The vehicle went from 17 to 80 percent in about 10 minutes.

Charging quickly is great, but the same cooling technology in that battery pack also allows repeated Boost mode sessions. Mercedes is cooling its cylindrical batteries with a non-conductive oil that first flows by the connectors and then circles back past the center of the battery before returning to be cooled. Mercedes would not comment on the chemistry of the oil it uses, calling it a “secret.”

Mercedes has not shared range targets for the 106 kWh battery pack.

That sound

I want to hate the sound. I want to bat it away as a gimmick meant to appease drivers still clinging to a world of V8 power and loud exhausts.

Instead, the roar of the AMG GT R (C190 generation) comes flooding out of the speakers and activates actuators in the seats, and it’s delightful. It won me over, and the sound placement in the cabin re-creates a sort of mid-engine location for my brain. The result is I’m driving an all-electric AMG with a fake mid-engine V8 noise, and I’m having fun.

The V8 growl appears when you walk up to the vehicle and when it’s turned on. In Comfort, Sport, and Race mode, it’s gone, but in Sport+, it rears its throaty head. When the vehicle is placed into Boost mode, the V8 noise gets louder (as it should).

It doesn’t sound real. It sounds close to real. It’s the difference between listening to a cassette tape of your favorite band and going to see them live. There’s an audio fidelity that’s not quite there, particularly in the low end. But you still enjoy that tape. It’s not necessary, but it’s delightful.

Inside (or finally a use for the passenger screen)

The interior is outfitted with all the luxury bits you expect from a Mercedes. All the usual suspects are there: the quilted door panels, the comfortable seats, and the array of available materials. This includes the screens and, yeah, the passenger screen.

But I finally found a use for that screen. It can display all the technical information of the vehicle, including nerdy data points about the amount of Nm a motor is outputting. I’ll never watch a video or play a video game on that screen outside of testing the latest version of MBUX 4.0, but I will stare at it while it shares details about the vehicle.

The seats are very comfortable, and the lumbar support and side bolsters are controlled on screen. Usually I find this annoying, but the level of fine-tuning this affords the driver and passenger is impressive, and I’ll give it a pass. Also, at 6 feet, 3 inches (1.9 m), I fit comfortably in the back seat. The large trunk should allow for a group of four to head out for a nice weekend away. Or maybe pick up the kids from soccer practice.

Kids love fun. Adults love fun. At least they should. Mercedes-AMG built a fun but very expensive vehicle. The AMG GT 55 starts at $145,000 (destination is an additional $1,550) and will be available by the end of the year. The AMG GT 63 starts at $175,000 (destination fee unavailable at this time) and will be available at the beginning of 2027. Regardless of the 401(k) emptying price, the electric coupe should squelch the “all EVs drive the same” discourse.

The AMG-GT Four-Door Coupe delivers the promise of an AMG as an EV that drips with nerdy and driver joy that can also get very, very sideways.