Mercedes-Benz New Zealand says the AMG GT 63 S 4Matic+ four-door coupe is the fastest vehicle in its range. So, we decided to put that to the test on the track.
Priced from $326,600, this five-seater coupe has the stonking 4-litre, V8 direct injection bi-turbo petrol engine, producing 470kW of power and 900Nm of torque. Added to that was the 4Matic+ all-wheel drive and AMG’s speedshift nine-speed transmission with steering-wheel paddles. It was sitting on 21-inch AMG alloys and had the option of AMG night package (lights), pushing the price to $328,100.
Its top speed is 315 km/h and it is famous for being the fastest AMG with 0-100km/h in 3.2s.
Mercedes-Benz NZ had the AMG GT 63 S 4Matic+ at Hampton Downs on display last week for its owners’ track event so they could drive a range of Mercedes products. But not the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4Matic+. That was my pleasure.
AMG driving instructor Stephen White was behind the wheel and he dialled in track mode and set the timer. He floored it from stop to 100km/h. Twice we did it in 3.5s — but that included carrying two rear passengers. Motoring colleagues had nailed the 3.2s on standard bitumen.
With White playing shotgun, I gunned it on the track for 30 minutes while the customers were eating lunch. However, the sound of the V8 engine pounding around the circuit enticed a few participants out to watch me clock some seriously fast laps. Then, with White behind the wheel, he gave two passengers and me some scorching laps.
Whereas I did a paltry 190km/h down the back straight, White was making it look easy at 237km/h.
A former Supercars driver, White was seriously impressed with the handling of the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4Matic+ especially the way it “put its nose down” into corners and the stability of the 2045kg car.
I could have stayed in the GT on the track all day as the coupe is superb when it comes to performance. It’s agile, stable on the brakes and into corners. It is the boss.
The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4Matic+ is also the boss of the AMG 63 S range in New Zealand and it has strong company; the E63 S, S63 S, C63 S sedan and estate, GLE 63 S, GLC 63 S, GLS 63 S plus it shares the same engine as the big daddy, the G63 (aka G-wagen).
So why the four-door AMG GT coupe? Well, you have Porsche to thank for that after it launched the first- and second-generation Panamera four-door gran tourer, so the geniuses at AMG came up with an equivalent.
And stay me with here. The GT four-door isn’t related to the GT R roadster or coupe. Instead it uses the MRA platform as the C-Class, E-Class, and CLS but it has been modified, with extra strengthening for the body.
But it has the same interior as those sports GTs, especially the V-shaped central control panel.
Then there’s the engine. It’s shared with the other 63 S models in the AMG range, and its response is terrific, not terrifying. Add to that the 4Matic+ all-wheel drive set-up plus Dynamic Select as standard, backed up by AMG Dynamics, which adjusts engine response, dampers, rear-wheel steering to suit driving demands. Drive modes vary from the softer Slippery mode to Race,which sets each variable to its most extreme and enabling Sport Handling Mode while turning off settings for the ESP.
Off the track and on to the road, I put the AMG into comfort mode during urban driving, but on the motorway for a Saturday getaway to Matakana farmers’ market, I dialled in sport mode.
The drive on SH1 was busy as it was the school holidays and a sunny day. When it came to the passing lanes, whereas in some other vehicles I’d hesitate to overtake a lane of 10 cars, this time I lightly tapped the AMG’s accelerator and the manoeuvre was completed in around 3.2s without even hitting 100km/h.
This coupe is an amiable cruiser and, like the track session, I felt I could driven it all day. Mercedes-Benz NZ says it already has had orders for this special AMG. It’s easy to see why.