2025 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid v. Mercedes-AMG GT55
So you have a £150k budget to blow on a two-door sports car - bravo. Which should it be?
Well, this is nice. When so much of what we knew about cars is changing, when badges don’t mean what they used to and manufacturers don’t make what they once did, here’s a match up that doesn’t take any explanation or justification whatsoever. It’s a 911 with a 3.6-litre flat-six in its bum against a suave AMG two-door with a big V8 up front and acres of leather inside. They’re both more advanced than ever, of course, with hybridisation, four-wheel steer and a suite of assistance features playing a part, but at its core this comparison remains as simple and as intriguing as it ever has. V8 versus flat six, auto versus dual clutch, two seats versus four seats (not the way around you’d expect) and two-wheel drive versus four-wheel drive (maybe also not the way around you’d expect.) So - does Mercedes or Porsche make the best year-round sports car?
Mercedes is trying hard to make its own 911, that’s for sure. The configurator lists eight variants for sale, from 2.0-litre to berserk 4.0-litre hybrid, with 2+2 seats unless you go for the track focused one and plenty of boot space at one end. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? For this match up we have AMG GT55 and 992.2 Carrera GTS; the Mercedes is demonstrably at its most attractive with a V8, and the 911 takes a big step on from plain Carrera to GTS with the T-Hybrid setup. We’ve even managed to get the two neatly aligned on list price, which feels like a minor miracle. A smattering of extras for a GTS (the paint, the racy seats, a better stereo and a few other bits) brings it up to £145k; the AMG, notable for being absolutely standard, is £148k. You couldn’t ask for a better match up, seemingly - place your bets…
As was the case for 991 against GT, and probably every duel of Affalterbach swagger against predictable Porsche, there’s only one winner on kerb appeal. The ‘55 is low, wide, cultured and cool; the GTS is another nicely specced Carrera. Maybe if ain’t broke then you don’t need to fix it, but it’s easy to see why those wanting a break from 911s could be drawn to the GT. The silhouette is classic hot rod, with sufficient modernity in the details in the stance to ensure it looks contemporary and not a lazy homage. Even with the dreaded black wheels, the GT makes you swoon.
Both cars, however, aren’t beyond improvement inside. There’s nothing much to fault about the ergonomics and quality of a 911 interior, but surprise and delight are in rather short supply. Again, much as it always has been, soldiering on stoically while more stylish and less sturdy alternatives fall by the wayside. So you can understand the logic. Just some (standard) colour wouldn’t go amiss. The Mercedes is undoubtedly fiddlier, and pushing the engine so far back in the chassis actually makes the driver’s immediate surroundings - complete with bits familiar from cheaper cars - more snug than might be expected. The leather and the lighting elevate the experience, superficially at least, above the Porsche. But while everything you come into contact with feels nice enough in the GT, it doesn’t fully convince as a luxurious or a sporty interior. Something like a (more expensive, granted) Continental GT really does.
On the road, the GTS proceeds as all these electrified Carreras have, which is to say indefatigably. There’s proper performance from revs that turbocharged 911s just don’t usually deliver it from, yet with every incentive to keep the engine speed climbing and go faster still. In a wet and windy Wales, too, the two-wheel drive GTS is a different prospect to in warmer climes; this is a 541hp, rear-drive 911 with plenty of turbo torque on tap, put simply. That’s usually the kind of experience you have to pay even more than this for - think Sport Classic, GT2 and so on. The performance and the conditions animate the usually impervious 992 brilliantly; here’s a modern 911 that requires a bit of thinking about, because the rear wheels are being taxed in a way they aren’t normally. Yet because every control weight is in such perfect sync, that just enough feel courses through the car and because the assists are so smartly calibrated, you feel encouraged to push the 911 and explore it rather than tippy-toe around. Where - shock - it feels fantastic, responsive and alive in best Porsche tradition.
Indeed about the only thing that lets the GTS down is the sound; there’s volume from the flat six, for sure, especially when the sports exhaust is howling in the cavern behind you, but it’s just not very tuneful. Here, predictably, is where the AMG comes good, burbling and gurgling like any good V8 should. There’s more fake sound than is really desirable, including pops and bangs that seem to be coming from the dash, but that’s not enough to prevent the 4.0-litre being the more compelling engine here. You’ll never rev the 911 for the sake of it, put things that way. In the AMG it really does seem rude not to, just a little bit…
The lag that does exist in the hot-vee is somewhat highlighted by the T-Hybrid, though it’s far from an egregious amount. There’s something quite exciting about waiting a beat for turbos to spool up, too. Except what follows in the AMG after that simply isn’t that dramatic. Short ratios and four-wheel drive traction ensure the 55 does the numbers, but after the rampant Porsche it feels noticeably less accelerative. Which the charm of a V8 can only partially atone for. We’re all for less-than-ballistic performance cars, only here it’s a level playing field on cost and the AMG looks outgunned with only the 476hp variant of this engine. Or, just as relevantly, overweight: somehow it’s carrying another 400kg over the Porsche in a similarly-sized car. It’s 400kg heavier than the old GT, too, which only had 14hp less in its base £100,000 V8 trim. So don’t go assuming this will be faster just because it’s newer.
Yet here’s the rub: the AMG does a genuinely staggering job of disguising that mass. It’s almost EV-like in the way it defies the numbers and just gets on with being pretty great. Even the experienced enthusiast would struggle to suggest this was a two-tonne car, such is the way it stops, steers and generally keeps a lid on itself. There’s body control, grip and composure in abundance, the GT more than able to keep pace in grotty conditions. Once that kerbweight is in your mind it becomes hard to forget, because 2,120kg with a driver is almost unbelievable, right up until the Mercedes carves through another bend, dismisses another ridge in the road or pulls up for that hairpin without drama or delay. To some extent it’s a more stimulating sensory experience than the Porsche, too, peering out over a huge bonnet, V8 thundering and airbrake spoiler popping up in the rear view.
There can be little doubt, however, that the 911 rewards more consistently and authentically. The trust and the confidence that are built up in the Porsche quite quickly never materialise in the AMG because the messages you get back are mixed; sometimes the four-wheel drive wants to divert power rearwards, and that feels great. But sometimes the front is favoured, the steering pulls, and that doesn’t feel so good. Obviously the rear-drive Porsche doesn’t do that, and neither do four-wheel drive ones. Where any intervention assist is deft in the 911, the AMG’s approach feels more heavy handed. It’s hard to imagine that four-wheel drive is strictly necessary, really, given AMG’s advances with rear-drive and the extra weight added.
Huge front rubber means the GT can corner like little else, however the calibration and feel of the steering means each time feels like more of a leap of faith than in the Porsche. Eventually you can believe it’s going to grip, albeit without the satisfaction and reassurance that comes from the other car. Both the Normal (Porsche) and Comfort (AMG) default suspension settings work well as catch-all settings; they both feel like taut, eager sports cars, albeit ones you’d happily take to a European track day. It’s only when cycling through the more aggressive modes that the Porsche makes its advantage known, settling into its stiffer damper setting while the heavier Merc always feels restless and agitated when wound up. The brake feel is just about preferable in the GT to the GTS, firm from the top of the pedal (and not after the tiniest dead spot in the Porsche).
Furthermore, while the roles reverse when away from the mountainside and back on the M4, the Mercedes proving a calmer cruiser, the gap is far closer there. The tension in the architecture, plus the sheer amount of rubber on the road - the front end is so tireless (and perhaps sometimes deflected) because the Michelins are 295-section (!) - means it’s some way from the cosseting AMG mile muncher of old that might be expected. It’s definitely more relaxing than the 911, though, which still amplifies the road surface to an annoying degree. It’s like driving along with a shell to both ears all the time; the sound isn’t especially awful, and you become accustomed, only to try anything else and reappraise the din. The road noise remains the biggest demerit of a supremely talented car.
Ultimately, the GT feels undone by the same problem that afflicts the related SL, if to a slightly lesser extent - it doesn’t really know what it wants to be. And that character conflict is exposed by a perfectly honed 911. The automatic and the leather and the 2+2-ness make the GT feel like a traditional Mercedes two-door of old, while the brightness of the steering, strictness of the damping and extensive configurability couldn’t be anything but contemporary AMG. Which is not a problem in of itself; the issue is that those two characters never convincingly meld. The 55 can’t quite cut it as the charming V8 grand tourer, because it’s firm and the materials aren’t quite rich enough; it isn’t a benchmark sports car because it wants for some clarity and feel. In isolation the GT is great, and even if exposed a tad by the Porsche here it remains extremely likeable for its presence, its sound, and its mass-defying ability. And for not being a Porsche.
But it feels like a ‘what if’ sort of AMG coupe. What if it was rear-wheel drive and less than two tonnes, what if it had more than 500hp (without stepping on the 63’s toes), what if the ride was maybe a tad more accommodating and so on. Whereas the GTS, on the other hand, feels like the 992 Carrera at the absolute peak of its powers. Just as the non-special models were starting to feel a tad ordinary, so hybridisation has reenergised the 911 to startling effect. Despite boasting fewer cylinders, fewer gears and not as much torque, as well as costing less money, the Porsche is the more accomplished, more thrilling sports car of the pair and still the one we’d recommend. But as the GT range continues to expand, this Stuttgart showdown will be revisited - and we wouldn’t always bank on the same conclusion.
SPECIFICATION | 2025 MERCEDES-AMG GT 55 4MATIC+ PREMIUM PLUS
Engine: 3,982cc, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: 9-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 476@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 516@2,250-5,000rpm
0-62mph: 3.9 seconds
Top speed: 183mph
Weight: 2,045kg (DIN)
MPG: 20.2 (WLTP)
CO2: 319g/km (WLTP)
Price: £148,300
SPECIFICATION | 2025 PORSCHE 911 T-HYBRID CARRERA GTS (992.2)
Engine: 3,591cc, turbo flat-six, 1.9kWh battery, electric motor
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch PDK, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 541 (ICE 485 plus up to 54hp from electric motor)
Torque (lb ft): 420
0-62mph: 3.0 secs (with Sport Chrono)
Top speed: 194mph
Weight: 1,645kg (DIN)
MPG: 26.9
CO2: 239g/km (WLTP)
Price: £132,600 (price as standard; price as tested £145,543, comprising Ice Grey Metallic for £1,068, Full bucket seats for £4,622, Preparation for roof transport system for £51, Tinted HD-Matrix LED headlights for £2,562, Windscreen with grey top tint for £98, Lightweight and noise insulated glass for £1,151, Fire extinguisher for £129, Surround View with Active Parking Support for £1,299, Lane Change Assist for £740, Bose Surround Sound System for £1,223)
The merc makes the Porsche look meek, love its brutish prettiness
The merc makes the Porsche look meek, love its brutish prettiness
If you live around poverty then it can appear impossible to have this kind of money.
Look around outside of this and wealth is everywhere.
A kid on YouTube earns £1m a year across social media filing cars driving through water on his iPhone.
Kids in my local non-league football club are earning £3k to £8k per week.[£150k to £450k per year]
Social media influencers - an average person £8k per month, good ones with sponsorship £50k per month, top ‘channels’ with big brand support £100k+ per month.
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