The civil side of savage

The new AMG GT 63 is performance engineering with everyday practicalities in mind. Andrew Frankel likes what he sees

- Andrew Frankel

Mercedes-Benz’s fabled AMG division is going through a curious phase. First it decided that for the new C 63 AMG it was going to replace its beloved 4-litre V8 engine under the bonnet of the hottest C Class with a rather less lovely 2-litre fourcylinder motor, with an enormous hybrid drive attached. I’ve not driven one, but it was launched to fairly dismal reviews in 2022 and to date not one has been made available on Mercedes’ otherwise well-supplied press fleet, into which you will read what you will.

And then this. The new AMG GT. You’ll remember the old one: two seats, double clutch gearbox between the rear wheels and a no-prisoners approach to the open road and, of course, the car from which it was directly derived, the wonderful SLS with its gull-wing doors. These cars were not mere hotted-up versions of more homespun Mercedes product, but bespoke AMG machines, unrelated to and unlike anything else in the Stuttgart stable. Some were better than others, but all were for drivers, endlessly rewarding when you were on the right road and on top of your game.

But this new GT is no longer a bespoke car. It sits on the same platform as the SL Roadster and can reasonably be thought of as a coupé version thereof. It’s even gained rear seats and four-wheel drive. And not only has that transaxle layout been lost, its unique double clutch gearbox has been swapped for the same nine-speed wet clutch auto transmission you’ll find in the SL.

Some markets even sell this car with four cylinder engines, though for the UK the choice is between two V8s, the car tested with 577bhp and a forthcoming version with a hybrid drive attached that will bump that figure well north of 800bhp, but with a massive additional weight penalty to a car whose mass has already risen a quarter of a tonne beyond that of its slimline predecessor.

It all sounds like progress is the diametrically opposed direction to that in which I’d choose a car like this to travel.