AMG’s flagship GT 4-door now has a plug-in hybrid top dog with 843hp/1400Nm system output and a 12km electric range

Affalterbach, Germany 

Mercedes-AMG has announced a new top-flight variant of its GT 4-Door grand touring sedan which isn’t just the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) for the brand, but also its most powerful road-going production car to date. 

Mercedes-Benz Singapore has not officially given a time frame for the car’s launch, but our estimate is within the next six to eight months.

Dubbed the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance, the model has a combined output of 834hp and eye-watering 1,400Nm of peak torque. The performance figures are impressive: 0-100km/h in only 2.9 seconds and a top whack of 316km/h. 0-200km/h is sub-10 seconds, which is very fast for a vehicle of this size, though not quite in the league of the most powerful hybrids. 

Previously, the 63 S variant of the car was the brand’s most powerful machine on offer – CarBuyer reported on its Singapore/Malaysian debut back in 2019 at Sepang Circuit – at S$800k with COE with 630hp from its biturbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.  

The new E Performance model adds a 204hp/320Nm motor to the 639hp/900Nm output of the V8. The motor is fed by a small 6.1kWh lithium ion battery pack in the boot.

PHEV tech means far more PC performance figures, with AMG claiming 8.6L/100km in fuel consumption, and 10.3kWh/100km for electric consumption. 

AMG’s not the first in this area – Porsche’s very powerful Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid packs 700hp and more e-range

Mercedes-AMG claims much of the tech has been inspired or trickled down from Formula One. For instance, the battery pack (dubbed ‘AMG high-performance battery’) has been designed for high energy density and draw – AMG claims the lithium pack is twice as power dense and extra light (89kg) and allows 70kW of normal drain, and 150kW of high output for up to 10 seconds. 

This has been made possible by what AMG dubs ‘direct cooling’, which makes it debut in the GT E Perofrmance : Coolant flows around the 560 cells of the battery individually, rather than cooling the entire pack as a whole. The pack itself has its own heat exchanger, and also a connection to the forward radiators. 

Naturally the car has an electrically-augmented all-wheel drive system. The 204hp motor is integrated into the rear axle/differential with its own two-speed gearbox, and works in conjunction with the 4Matic system. 

The battery pack allows for a quoted 12km of electric-only range, at speeds of up to 140km/h. The driver can select from Electric, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Slippery, and a customised Individual setting. Pure electric driving sees a sound warning for pedestrians, at up to 50km/h. Like other electric vehicles, the driver can also select a louder AMG-tuned sound. 

Like all current AMG models, there’s also the AMG Dynamics system which takes a wide range of sensor and system data to help you go faster, and you can tune the system from Basic, to Advanced, Pro, and Master.

‘Master’ allows ‘slightly oversteering vehicle balance, more direct steering and more agile turn-in behaviour.’ AMG’s adaptive air suspension Ride Control+ is standard on the car, as are upsized carbon-ceramic brakes.

Earlier this year, the AMG GT 4-Door also received its mid-life facelift with minor changes: Improvements to the air suspension, a larger range of colour choices, the new ‘widescreen’ MBUX infotainment system, and upgraded interior bits like a new steering wheel. 

Back in the land of normal, non-monster Mercedes-Benzes, the brand has launched its EQC midsize electric SUV in Singapore, and will soon launch its EQA small electric SUV in mid-September.

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