Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+: we test the sedan version of Mercedes

We get behind the wheel of Mercedes’s “super sedan”, the four-door Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S. One of the few cars on the market capable of putting the very Porsche Panamera Turbo S-E Hybrid on the ropes.

The day I had been eagerly waiting for has arrived: since receiving the invitation to an “AMG GT day” almost a month in advance, I’d been looking forward to it. At last I would be able to drive the new Mercedes-AMG GT 63 four-door!

I knew it wouldn’t be a full-blown test. It was more of what we call a “first contact”. A real test, and certainly for a car like this, requires several days of living with it. For the good… and for the bad, which usually comes when it’s time to hand it back.

Ideally, we would also have taken it onto a circuit. But that wasn’t the case, and we had to make do with drawing the most conclusions possible in less than an hour behind the wheel. Still, on one of my favourite roads. Would that be enough to know whether the new four-door Mercedes-AMG GT Coupé lives up to the new Porsche Panamera?

The top of the Mercedes-AMG GT range

First of all, we need to position the Mercedes-AMG GT four-door. We’ll call it that from here on, although in reality it has five doors and is a saloon. You know how marketing works.

The new four-door was added to the Mereces-AMG GT range earlier this year, joining the AMG GT Coupé and the AMG GT Roadster. The most sporty version has recently been added to the GT Coupé range, the new AMG GT R Pro. A genuine race car, approved for road use.

The one we’re dealing with here is the Mercedes-AMG GT four-door, presented in March at the Geneva Motor Show, and orders have been accepted since last September for the V8 versions, the GT 63 and the GT 63 S. Next year the GT 53 version will join, with a 435 PS V6 engine… and an ECO label. But that’s another story…

The two AMG GT 63 versions share the same engine, a 4-litre twin-turbo V8 with direct injection and a cylinder deactivation system to reduce consumption. The main difference is that the “S” produces 639 CV and 900 Nm of peak torque, compared with 585 CV and 800 Nm in the less powerful one (relatively speaking).

It’s not the only difference. In the GT 63 S, the engine sits on active mounts, and the self-locking rear differential comes as standard. And also the RACE programme with “drift” mode, which I was left wanting to try. Yes, indeed, the GT 63 that Mercedes put in our hands was the top of the range, the “S” version. The one with a price close to €200,000, loaded with options that could almost buy you a Mercedes A-Class.

Interior of the GT 63 S: luxurious or sporty…

In fact, the elegant Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S can be dressed as sporty as the customer wishes, by picking from the options list. The carbon fibre takes centre stage in the exterior and interior packs with elements in this material, which can add more than €10,000 between the two.

Much more if we add the AMG carbon and microfibre steering wheel (€1,200), the 21-inch forged wheels with wider tyres (€4,800), or the Magno graphite grey exterior colour (another €4,180). While the blue of the unit we tested hides very well what lies beneath its bodywork, in graphite grey it’s clear that when you press the “start” button, the box of thunder is going to open.

A few details of interest, so as not to get too tangled up and get on with the action. I didn’t want to waste time fiddling with the many possibilities offered by the configurable digital instrumentation and the MBUX multimedia system screen. But imagine whatever you like and you won’t be disappointed. You can display G-forces, power and torque graphs, even the profile of a circuit. I went straight to Supersport mode, with the huge rev counter in the centre.

I did notice the new controls on the centre console, which are less like buttons and more like small touch screens that change display depending on the setting being adjusted. There are ones for adaptive damping, the active exhaust, stability control, the driving modes… We’ll soon see this kind of control in other Mercedes models.

And a special mention for the magnificent Performance steering wheel, with two additional satellites featuring small TFT screens. They let you control various functions with your thumbs without reaching for the console buttons: on the right, the AMG driving programmes; on the left, the adjustable damping and the exhaust system.

The same goes for the active multicontour seats. By now they’re no longer a novelty. But it’s reassuring, and a great help in focusing on driving, to feel how they embrace and hold you, varying the firmness of the support as you turn the wheel.

As for the rear seats, Mercedes offers two possible configurations: a classic three-seat bench with a folding backrest, or two individual seats separated by a luxurious console. In both cases the boot has almost 400 litres of capacity, and a space under the floor that is also quite usable.

On the road with the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S

Time to get going, the stopwatch is running and we have to keep to the schedule. At least I have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that if we’re a few minutes late, the GT 63 S won’t turn into a pumpkin.

And from the very first moment, with one reference in mind: the aforementioned Porsche Panamera Turbo S-E Hybrid. A car I know very well, and about which I hope to write again soon in the first person, this time for Top10motor. Although Porsche has already moved to make clear why the Panamera Turbo S-E Hybrid may be the best sports saloon in its class. If the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S allows it.

Although a direct comparison would be needed to give a verdict without fear of being wrong, from the little I’ve been able to try of the Mercedes, I’m very much afraid the Porsche would end up giving way.

Explaining in words what it feels like to press the GT 63 S’s accelerator all the way to the floor is very difficult. You need references. And the Panamera can be one of them. In the “S” version, the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h from a standing start in 3.2 seconds, roughly the time it took you to read this sentence. And 0.2 seconds quicker than the Porsche.

It’s true that from a technical point of view, the 3.4 seconds the Panamera needs, weighing 2.4 tonnes, are almost more impressive, compared with the “lighter” Mercedes, which is about 200 kg lighter on the scales. But the Porsche has in its favour the best of both worlds: the power of a V8 engine and the help of the electric motor in its hybrid drive system.

In the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S, all the force reaching the wheels is generated by burning petrol. And believe me when I say we are dealing with a very fast car. Faster than you’d expect from its acceleration figures and the 315 km/h top speed it claims. It goes the way you’d expect from a supercar, and you could think of any, regardless of size and number of doors.

In the two sportiest modes (I won’t kid you, the others I didn’t try), the V8’s response is so immediate that it feels as if your muscles tense without you meaning them to, as if your back were about to press into the seat even before you start accelerating. And to me, it even sounds better than the Porsche, with the active exhaust in “ON” mode. The best thing is to check it for yourself in this video. If the roar of the V8 doesn’t make the hair on your neck stand up, then I forgive you for not reading on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnazaM_MWSY&feature=youtu.be

All-wheel drive and four-wheel steering

Combining the comfort of a luxury saloon for everyday use with the engine, chassis and brake performance needed for extreme driving on a circuit is not, in principle, an easy thing to do.

The Mercedes achieves it with an enviable technical arsenal, and with impeccable management so that all the systems work in coordination. The AMG SpeedShift MCT 9G gearbox can be sweet and smooth, or change gears like a machine gun. The 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive takes care of distributing engine power according to the chosen driving programme and grip conditions, in a fully variable way.

That “drift” mode must be an absolute delight, with the help of the electronically controlled self-locking rear differential, and 100% of the V8’s force reaching the rear wheels.

The effectiveness of the four-wheel steering, the tuning of the suspension (on the GT 63 S with air springs able to adapt the stiffness and ride height of the body, along with variable damping), the grip of the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2… And so on. The result is a car that you fall in love with from the first press of the throttle and the second turn of the wheel.

It inspires enormous confidence for a car so powerful, and allows very fast driving with great safety. At all times you feel like you have the 600-plus CV of power it claims, yet it never feels like you’re driving a two-tonne car.

Not even when braking, and that’s despite our unit not having the always impressive carbon-ceramic brakes fitted to an AMG GT Roadster that we also drove on the same day.

Ah! It also has active aerodynamics, with the Airpanel front spoiler to direct the airflow at the front, and the extending rear spoiler, which helps pin the car to the road both at high speed and in corners, changing its angle of inclination depending on speed.

It’s amazing what can be achieved with electronics. At the touch of a button, the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S can be a comfortable luxury saloon (sorry, four-door coupé… with a rear hatch), become a sports car (Sport or Sport+ modes), sharpen its claws to take on the circuit (RACE programme), or adapt to each driver’s preferences with the configurable Individual mode.

And if the road is slippery? Don’t worry, everything is ready, with a specific driving programme so we don’t get any nasty surprises.

Not even when checking the trip computer or glancing at the fuel gauge needle, because for what it’s worth, and with no hybrid assistance whatsoever, the average of 16 l/100 km over our short route can’t be called excessive.

Are we looking at the definitive sporty super-saloon? The duel with the Porsche is on.

Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+ image gallery