Mercedes-AMG Concept GT XX unveiled with 1,360hp

A 'motor' is still the heart of AMG - this one's got three of them

By Cam Tait / Wednesday, 25 June 2025 / Loading comments

A few years ago, on the launch of the highly controversial Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Performance (i.e. the four-cylinder hybrid one), a very enthusiastic engineer suggested that the outfit, historically one of the best engine builders in existence, was slowly becoming a technology company. He wasn’t wrong, either, as the brand has played a part in a handful of EVs, including 53 versions of the EQE and EQS. And now it’s gone and built this, the AMG Concept GT XX, which is Affalterbach’s first fully in-house designed electric car.

It is, as you can see, not an electric version of the AMG GT, nor does it fit the criteria of what we’ve come to expect from one of the firm’s flagship performance cars (two doors, long bonnet, etc). Instead, the AMG GT XX follows the well-trodden path of the four-door coupe, as used by Porsche to great effect with the Taycan and, more recently, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra that bagged the EV production lap record at the Nurburgring Nordschleife with a Turbo GT-beating 7:05 run. In the battery-powered world at least, a four-door GT can mix it with the best of them.

Clearly, it’ll be entering the fray with some serious firepower behind it. The headline figure is a peak output of ‘more than’ 1,360hp, some 250hp more than the Taycan Turbo GT, which is delivered by three axial flux electric motors. According to Affalterbach’s boffins, axial flux motors are 67 per cent smaller and lighter than the conventional radial flux system, while also packing three times the amount of power. As the name suggests, they’re installed along the axle line, rather than being adjacent to it like a radial system is, which helps with the centre of gravity. The tech made its production car debut as part of the Ferrari SF90 Stradale’s hybrid system, but AMG is hoping it will be the first to use the motors in a fully electrified vehicle.

For the GT XX, AMG has used three of them: one at the front and two at the rear. In most conditions, the car makes do with the two rear motors, with the front coming into play under heavy acceleration and for energy recovery. And when it’s not in use, it’s decoupled from the rest of the system to improve efficiency. As you might expect, it’s when they’re all working in unison that you get the silly power figure, although what separates the GT XX from all the other ludicrously quick EVs out there is that it can deliver said silly power again and again. Using technology garnered from its hugely successful hybrid Formula 1 cars, AMG has developed an all-new, 800-volt battery that uses tall and thin cylindrical cells made from aluminium. These are tightly packed together in an aluminium housing and individually cooled by a non-conductive oil which, the company says, allows for rapid heat dissipation and uniform temperature control across the battery.

The end result is huge amounts of power right up until the battery goes flat. And when it does, you’ll be able to charge it up a heck of a lot quicker than anything on the market today. AMG is claiming an average (repeat: average) charging rate of 850kW, and could potentially peak higher. For context, a Lotus Eletre, one of the fastest-charging EVs on the market, has a peak rate of 350kW, though its average will likely be far lower than that. What that means is 248 miles of range in just five minutes. Still not quite as fast as filling up at the pumps, perhaps - but a whole lot faster than what’s available today. The only snag (other than the fact it’s a concept) is that you won’t find any chargers capable of delivering anywhere near that sort of power, though 1,000kW systems are apparently in development, and AMG is eager to make use of them.

No question, this is a very clever car built by very clever people, but for all the silicon-age stuff going on underneath, the GT XX is essentially a homage to the Mercedes C111 prototypes from the '70s. In essence, they were used to test and develop different powertrains and technologies, and took the form of a mid-engined, gull-winged supercar. The company revisited the design a couple of years back with the Vision One-Eleven concept, and has once again looked to its old prototypes for inspiration when creating the GT XX. The thin, wide mouth, the split vent ahead of the rakish windscreen and the pill-shaped rear are all references to the C111, as is the sunset beam orange paintwork. The original car made do with just two circular rear lights, but AMG has opted for six here, three on each side, to add a touch of drama - and perhaps to overcompensate for the lack of exhausts.

Adding to the visual flair are the illuminated panels shaped like the AMG stakes on the side skirts, and Merc’s ‘MBUX Fluid Light Panel’ nestled between the rear lights. The dot matrix-style display can show a variety of graphics and relay messages, the latter being customisable by the driver. In theory, you can write whatever you’d like on there, though words or phrases that could be used to deliver targeted messages to tailgaters would, unfortunately, be censored. At any rate, it's probably a little too ‘concept car’ to make production, though other tricks, such as speakers behind the headlights that play fake engine sounds, could very well feature on the end product.

Hopefully, we’ll see those carbon fibre dinner plates make their way onto the production car, too. Not only do they create a smooth surface for air to pass over, but there’s actually an active element where the covers open up to help cool the brakes, resembling the carbon wheel covers you’d see on tarmac-spec Group B rally cars. The GT XX also gets an intricate underbody that keeps the car pinned to the ground at high speed without the need of draggy wings and flicks, resulting in a super streamline 0.198cd - slipperier than a Tacan - and helping it reach a vmax of 224mph.

The interior is pure concept car and packed full of references to the electric powertrain. Those glowing orange pipes in the centre console? They’re intended to resemble high-voltage cables, while the slatted metal feature around the drive selector mimics the look of a heat sink, like you’d find on a tower desktop PC. In contrast, the dash serves as a nod to the firm’s roots as an engine builder, resembling a cast cam cover with ‘AMG’ milled onto it, while the steering wheel is an evolution of that found on the AMG One hybrid hypercar. Even the interior materials are cool. Naturally, AMG has gone big on sustainability, which does mean the leather isn’t dead cow skin. It is, however, made from discarded slicks from a GT3 racing car, so while it doesn’t exactly feel like leather, it’s a pretty cool alternative.

Mercedes-AMG boss, Michael Schiebe, said: “The CONCEPT AMG GT XX is the next milestone in the history of AMG and forges a whole new dimension of performance. We’re bringing groundbreaking technology that redefines high performance. And the best thing is that this car is a true AMG with every fibre of its being. The heart of an AMG was always the motor, and that will remain so with our in-house electric architecture.” We see what you’ve done there, Mr Schiebe, even if that doesn’t make the ‘AMG is now a tech company’ pill any easier to swallow.

Nor will AMG's ambition that the GT XX be considered among other Mercedes greats like the 300 SL. It knows that icon status has to be earned, of course - and with no confirmation of a production model, it's still not clear if you'll be able to buy one yet. And even if that eventuality seems likely, there is a question mark over how much the flagship would ultimately cost - though Porsche's pricing of the Taycan obviously provides some guidance. The current level of customer demand for high-end electric cars will also doubtless play its part in the immediate future of the GT XX, though even that reality check is unlikely to mean a place for Mercedes' forthcoming Euro 7-compliant V8. Unless those rear seats are deemed surplus to requirements.