New Mercedes-AMG GT 63 4-Door Coupe prototype review: powerful and engaging

Verdict

On first impressions, the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 4-Door Coupe could be more than just an ultra-powerful electric saloon; it’s a genuinely engaging car to drive too. We’ll have to wait and see what it’s like on real roads, but the way AMG has figured out how to make the incredible performance accessible though its control interfaces is a definite step in the right direction. 

After all the technical briefings on the new electric AMG, it’s finally time for our first real-world test. More importantly, it’s a chance to see exactly how a pure-electric AMG plans to deliver the emotional thrills expected of the badge.

This exclusive first drive takes place behind the secure walls of the Papenburg testing facility in Germany, complete with mandatory high-voltage safety training. But before we can get a first taste of the new GT 63 4-Door Coupe from behind the wheel, the AMG engineers decide to build the suspense. Instead of burning rubber right away, we start with a PowerPoint presentation. It's a healthy dose of technical background, ensuring we can fully appreciate the highly sophisticated driving dynamics control system – dubbed the 'Race Engineer' – later on.

This is what AMG wants us to focus on during this initial introduction. And when the tech briefing is wrapped up, Head of Development Oliver Wiech invites us into the red-leather interior and calmly chauffeurs the still-camouflaged saloon across the expansive test tracks.

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You sit pleasingly low, just like in the two-door GT Coupe, and your eyes are immediately drawn to the driver-focused digital dashboard layout and three prominent rotary dials on the centre console. These allow the driver to separately fine-tune the throttle response, cornering agility and traction control. However, the latter two adjustments can only be accessed in Race mode with the ESP completely deactivated.

We set off in Comfort mode, which primes the air suspension and electric powertrain for more comfortable long-distance cruising or motorway driving; the first dial – responsible for the throttle response – is pre-configured in its middle setting. In this mode, your right foot delivers progressive, smooth acceleration that never feels twitchy. While fine-tuning is possible, it’s hardly necessary.

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It’s this mode that the majority of owners will use most often, and despite the car’s sporting pretence it’s a character that it handles well. The supple damping, a beautifully quiet electric cabin ambiance, and a sense of serenity feel more 'business class' than ready for a full-on track assault.

However, as is often the case with ultra-high-performance electric cars, you’re never far from accessing some incredible acceleration. Pulling one of the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters activates Boost Mode, unleashing maximum power. The three axial-flux electric motors instantly deliver well over 1,000bhp – for 63 seconds. It's a clever nod to the model name, and as Wiech explains with a grin, it’s plenty of time to deploy the extra surge without causing a panic attack. 

After a brief burst of acceleration, he looks over, waiting for my reaction. From the passenger seat, the sheer, brutal impact of that electric power is a shock to the system that takes a moment to process.

After I’ve switched into the driver’s seat, we have to approach the handling track with a degree of caution. We click the steering wheel dial into Sport+ mode, and on the digital display a rev counter expands alongside a shift indicator, while a deep V8 rumble begins to growl through the cockpit.

As has already been revealed, AMG has programmed a driving simulation of its combustion-powered GT R. It’s not just some V8 acoustics, either, because it also includes simulated gearchanges complete with brief torque interruptions and noticeable vibrations sent directly through the seats. The sensation comes close to the driving experience of the good old days – provided you keep the windows rolled up and aren't expecting any applause from bystanders on the pavement.

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On the handling circuit, Chief Dynamics Engineer Oliver Schnitzler takes over the controls to demonstrate the full bandwidth of the car’s agility and traction control systems. Under load, the car's cornering behaviour can be quickly varied, from safe and predictable understeer in stage one, through a perfectly neutral balance in stage five, all the way to deliberately provoked oversteer in stage nine. 

Additionally, a nine-stage traction control system allows rear-wheel slip to be minutely adjusted to match the track surface and your driving style.

Two highly entertaining laps and a few clouds of tyre smoke later, it’s finally my turn to drive. Even with the car in the baseline Race set-up, your confidence in the AMG builds remarkably quickly. Leaning on the electronic driver aids set to stage five, you can explore the limits of grip, learn to judge the mass of this heavy electric AMG, anchor it hard before tight hairpins, and rocket out of corners with a beautifully agile, rear-biased hint of slip.

Our brief introductory drive comes to an end just as things are getting seriously interesting. Specifically, just as this guest driver was getting brave enough to use the dials to add in a personal slip angle for those 1,000-plus horses on the rear axle. In that exact moment, the spark fully ignited.

From this early drive, it’s clear that AMG is figuring out how to inject some proper driving excitement into an EV beyond just accelerating in a straight line. However, whether it can do this more organically on more challenging road conditions remains to be seen.