Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E-Performance
The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E-Performance is revealed as AMG’s first plug-in hybrid model, with 831bhp and 1033lb/ft of torque.
Aiming to compete with the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, it manages to have an even more convoluted name than its Stuttgart competition, but more importantly a chunk more power too.
With the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 paired with a 201bhp electric motor on the rear axle – and derived from Mercedes’ F1 know-how – there’s a massive 831bhp on offer when it’s needed, and an even more massive 1033lb/ft of torque, shoving the GT 63 S E-Performance to 62mph in 2.9 seconds and on to 196mph.
But if you’re thinking this new PHEV will suit you perfectly, with EV running in the week and monster blasting at the weekend, you’d be wrong.
You’d be wrong because, unlike the Panamera which now boasts a 17.9kWh battery and EV range (officially) of 31 miles, AMG isn’t bothering about ferrying you around in EV silence, just about performance.
The tiny 6.1kWh battery in the AMG is designed for fast power delivery and to always be available to power the electric motor when power is called, not for any sort of EV range.
In fact, it has just 7.5 miles of EV range which, in the real world, might be enough to get you up the drive to your house in the early hours in silence, but not for much more.
Other titivations – beyond the new PHEV powertrain – for the 63 S Performance include a front bumper that looks more like the two-door GT’s, new tailpipes, new alloys, ‘E Performance’ badges and PHEV-specific stuff for the MBUX.
Mercedes is taking the AMG GT 63 S E-Performance off for a public debut at the Munich Show before putting it on sale. How much? Probably somewhere between £150k and £180k.
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