Mercedes-AMG GT 63 4-door | PH Carbituary

Orders are closed for the enigmatic GT - time to pay tribute to a lesser spotted AMG hero...

We’ve all seen a few Mercedes-AMG spin-offs in recent years and wondered what the point was. An SUV most likely, though there have been some oddball saloons and coupes also. They appear so niche that only a few will surely ever want them, making it hard to believe that the money spent in development will ever be recouped in sales. Or that the halo effect will ever be pronounced enough to help the rest of the lineup. Probably we’ll miss a sprawling range when it’s all reduced to a pair of powertrains supplying every bodystyle.

The AMG GT 4-door will most certainly be missed, even if at launch in 2018 it definitely looked like one of those impossible-to-justify Affalterbach passion projects. The ‘213 AMG E63 of the era was already superb, with the 4.0-litre M177 V8 and 4Matic+ all-wheel drive. Here was another AMG luxury car with barely any more power that cost a lot more money and could only seat four - while attempting to claim tangible sports car lineage at more than two tonnes. On the face of it, the GT 4-door appeared a cynical way to make money from gullible customers, trying to sell a jazzed-up E63 as a sports car for a healthy markup.

Then we drove it, and the 4-door emphatically proved why cars aren’t to be judged solely by the numbers. And why the hunches of journalists shouldn’t be relied upon. It was, and very definitely still is, a very special AMG experience. And patently not a misnomer: there was a purpose and aggression to the way it drove, thanks to a reinforced chassis, unique suspension tune and four-wheel steering, that meant it really did feel like an XL GT to a large extent. That V8 wasn’t just a bit more potent than the saloon, either, as there was a chunk more torque as well: 664lb ft, compared to 627 for a ‘63, so every twinge of the throttle was met with more muscle, and it romped through its nine gears even more ravenously.

And if intangible alongside, there was a sense of occasion to the 4-door that eluded the humble (by comparison) E63. The interior felt like an upgrade, with its rich materials and the V8-style arrangement for the transmission tunnel switches. As a static object, the GT exuded palpable menace while an E-Class blended into the background. As Nic C put it on his first experience: ‘In the flesh, the GT 63 radiates roughly the sort of physical vibe you’d expect from a ballroom full of bare-chested yakuza. Pictures don’t seem to do it justice, and it’s vanishingly rare to actually see one, so you must trust us when we say that no other car currently on sale conveys malevolence quite so successfully’. Years later, the statement most certainly rings true; an M5 is bloated by comparison, a Panamera plain.

The GT was Mercedes-AMG at its unnecessary yet compelling best: in much the same way that nobody ever needed 7.3-litre SLs or twin-turbo G-Classes, the 4-door was surplus to all but the most niche of requirements - yet totally irresistible as well. To experience it was to want it, and rationality be damned.

At the UK launch in Aberdeen almost seven years ago, it was almighty through the Cairngorms National Park, shrinking straights with that stellar V8 and cornering with an uncanny precision. Thanks to the feedback of its major controls and uniquely AMG interpretation of all-wheel drive, it made an Audi RS7 feel about as exciting as an A5 TDI. It was an obvious entrant into our group test of the best four-wheel drive cars on sale. Wherever the GT 4-door ended up, it gave a formidably good account of itself. You’d never forget a drive in a hurry, put it that way.

Come 2021, the Mercedes-AMG E-Class was revised and improved, with comfier suspension and a keener front end. To ensure the GT could still claim its flagship status, the 4-door was also updated - with another 200hp. The 63 S E Performance is the ultimate representation of the irrepressible GT vibe; nobody would have driven a 639hp original and craved anything more whatsoever.

Yet to experience the way the electric fills in the turbo lag, bulks up the 4.0-litre mid-range to obscene levels and then silently skulks through town centres like a four-wheeled basking shark, is to be captivated all over again. It’s a PHEV with attitude, celebrating its electrification (including a two-speed transmission for the motor) with a cacophony of sounds and sensations as well as truly outrageous performance. Nobody needs a 2,380kg, 196mph car with seven miles of electric range - you might even say that nobody really wants one - but the AMG still presents an enormously persuasive case.

Because it wants driving, too, not merely experiencing. There’s some resistance and weight to the steering (to say nothing of its accuracy), the 4Matic leans very heavily on one axle, and there’s proper discipline to the body control in the suspension’s sterner settings. All while ensconced in a feast of leather, carbon and Air Balance perfume, with ambient lighting swanky enough to shame a Soho Farmhouse. It shouldn’t make sense, a car as luxurious as it is thrilling to drive, but the 4-door pulls it off magnificently. And, crucially, in a fashion that nothing else really has: a Panamera is less bombastic than Affalterbach’s maverick, the much-loved old Aston Martin Rapide nowhere near as capable.

It’s some way from a perfect Mercedes, sure. While eminently tolerable and supremely disciplined, the GT’s ride isn’t what you’d call pliant in any scenario; those secondary intrusions that a less focused Benz would absorb don’t go unnoticed. That small 6.1kWh battery pack somehow robs the boot of an inordinate amount of space, while the car itself still struggles to muster much more than 20mpg. And it must be said that newer AWD systems, such as the one found in the BMW M3, now feel a bit smarter, metering out the requirements of each axle more smoothly and swiftly. Oh yes, and as you see it here, this Olive Metallic example is £190k.

Nevertheless, the GT 4-door departs as a reminder that nobody does heartthrob ‘bahnstormers quite like AMG. It’s a Hammer for the modern age: wildly expensive, monstrously powerful, fabulously opulent, appealing only to the select few - and deeply, deeply cool as a result. If the idea of such a machine appeals, the reality is utterly absorbing. Flawed, most certainly, yet charming in a fashion that very few cars are. Whatever comes next for Mercedes-branded performance cars, regardless of powertrain, bodystyle or remit, cars that can channel the style, swagger and substance of the 4-door GT will be pretty damn good. It would be a fitting legacy for a car as unapologetically, unforgettably AMG as this.

SPECIFICATION | MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE

Engine: 3,982cc twin-turbo V8, rear-mounted electric motor, 6.1kWh battery
Transmission: 9-speed DCT, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 843 (639 @ 5,500-6,500rpm)
Torque (lb ft): 1,084 (664 @ 2,500-4,500rpm)
0-62mph: 2.9sec
Top speed: 196mph
Weight: 2,380kg
MPG: 25.2 (WLTP, up to 7 miles all-electric range)
CO2: 298g/km (WLTP)
Price: £182,450 (price as standard; price as tested £189,450, comprising Manufaktur Exclusive Olive Metallic paint for £1,700, Manufaktur Exclusive Nappa leather - Saddle Brown/Black for £3,200, Driving Assistance Package for £2,100)

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pycraft

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