The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is meant to deliver world-class on-track handling and it doesn’t disappoint. Even in the base model power is plentiful and it just gets crazier from there. And yet the GT provides a livable on-road experience that makes it one of the best all-around cars on the market. With its quick steering, strong brakes, ready power, agile handling, and track-bred performance, we rate it a perfect 10 for performance. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
The AMG GT 4-Door Coupe shares its basic structure with other Mercedes, but AMG engineers reinforced several areas of the body by adding aluminum front strut domes, three mid-body braces, a rear aluminum crossmember, and a rear steel V-brace. The result is a stiff structure that is ready to respond to the driver’s inputs.
The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is a large car at 199.2 inches long and some 4,400 pounds, but a lot of suspension and performance equipment helps it feel smaller than its size. In fact, it sets a new benchmark for four-door performance, at least in its 63 S configuration.
Adjustable dampers are standard and 63 models get multi-chamber air springs and rear-axle steering that turns the rear wheels 1.3 degrees opposite of the fronts at speeds below 62 mph to virtually shorten the 116.2-inch wheelbase.
An electrically controlled limited-slip rear differential has a clutch that can send power to the outside wheel in turns and lock up to help the 315-mm wide Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rear tires shove the power to the pavement when the road or track straightens out. Three brake packages are offered, and the smallest are a healthy 14.2 inches in diameter. The largest are the carbon-ceramics, which feature 15.8-inch front rotors with six-piston calipers.
This all creates a car that is amazingly agile and ready for the track. Quick steering and the stiff front structure conspire to create immediate turn-in response. The car is heavy, so it will push wide in a corner if taken too fast, but it regains its composure quickly with a brush of the strong brakes.
The rear-axle steering and eLSD help it carve through turns like a smaller car, and the drive modes either dial up the response times or calm the car to make it relaxed on the street where the ride is still firm but livable.
Power and more power
Mercedes arms the GT four-door with power in its basic form and only adds more from there. The base engine in 53 models is a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 that makes 429 hp and 384 pound-feet of torque. It uses a 48-volt hybrid system to add power and run the water pump and air conditioning. It dispatches the 0-60-mph run in 4.4 seconds and tops out at 174 mph. It’s no slouch.
The 48-volt hybrid system eliminates the need for belts. It makes the stop/start function seamless and smooth, and its electric supercharger fills in for the turbos as they spool up. It’s a trick system that allows for impressive power with decent fuel economy.
With the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8, the GT is a rocket. The base version in the 63 model makes 577 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. It launches the GT from 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds and pushes it all the way to 193 mph.
The 63 S model’s 4.0 turns up the wick to 630 hp and 664 lb-ft of twist. The 0-60 mph run flashes by in 3.1 seconds and the top speed increases slightly to 195 mph.
In all models, power flows through a quick-shifting 9-speed automatic transmission that can also be shifted via steering wheel paddles. There’s no need to pull those paddles on the track, though, because the Sport+ and Race programs hold gears longer, downshift for turns, and always have the power at the ready.
Mercedes gives the 4.0 some personality, too. It barks between gears, and crackles and pops when it’s time to slow down in the Sport or Race modes. Even the inline-6 exhibits some of this behavior in its Sport+ setting.
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