Mercedes-AMG ramps up its GT 911 rival for second generation

More power, more seats, standard four-wheel drive for re-engineered coupé

- GREG KABLE

Mercedes-AMG is taking renewed aim at the Aston Martin Vantage and Porsche 911 with M its second-generation GT, a car that the company's CEO, Michael Schiebe, said "responds to the wishes of customers".

Unveiled at the Monterey Car Week in California, the new GT has been comprehensively re-engineered in a programme that had its development twinned with that of the latest SL roadster, beside which it will be produced at the Mercedes' factory in Bremen, Germany.

The new GT is larger and heavier but also roomier and arguably more practical than its predecessor.

It forgoes the two-seat layout that has characterised the top-rung AMG model since its introduction in 2014, instead featuring a 2+2 interior that, in combination with a larger and more accessible boot, provides greater everyday functionality.

As with the closely related SL, the GT adopts a fully variable four-wheel drive system as standard for the first time. This replaces the previous model's rearwheel-drive arrangement to provide the coupé with what Schiebe describes as "a much broader spread of driving characteristics, together with greater traction and added security in all conditions".

The fifth series-production road car to be developed from the ground up by AMG will initially be sold in two guises, both featuring the company's hand-assembled, 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8.

The GT 55 4Matic+ develops 469bhp and 516lb ft, while the range-topping GT 63 4Matic+ offers 577bhp and 590lb ft, in each case representing improvements in output over the equivalent versions of the first-generation GT.