MERCEDES-AMG GT63 REVIEW: THE ULTIMATE MIDLIFE CRISIS BUY, YOURS FOR £101,000

Nothing says mid-life crisis as much as a large, silver German coupé with a growling exhaust and sumptuous leather upholstery.

And the new second-generation Mercedes-AMG GT fits the bill nicely. Long, low looks, with a road-munching snout and even a rear wing, two-plus-two seating, plus cadmium-yellow brake calipers just to show the world you don’t actually clean your own car…

This is a replacement for the 2015 AMG GT, the second-ever all-AMG model after the awesome if boneheaded SLS. While that first version of the GT received plaudits, many felt its market was ill-defined, sitting awkwardly between a Porsche 911, an Aston Martin DB12 or even a Maserati GranTurismo.

This new model changes all that, a silver arrow aimed at the heart of Porsche territory, not only in its seating configuration but even with its shape – if not the engine location…

Apparently, owners had asked for more carrying capacity and some pointless rear seats, so Mercedes obliged even though that added 180mm to the overall length. The base is the new SL, also developed by AMG, featuring an aluminium spaceframe reinforced with steel, magnesium and composite materials. However, the GT has been so heavily modified as to be barely recognisably related, even if you removed all the body panels.

The range

Variants include the 469bhp 55, the four-cylinder 43 and, to come, the outlandish 850bhp-plus E Performance hybrid.

But this 577bhp/590lb ft 4.0-litre biturbo V8 with 4Matic four-wheel drive and a wet-clutch nine-speed automatic gearbox hits the sweet spot. If I were looking at this sort of car, this is the drivetrain I’d choose. Assuming, of course, I could find the required £165,000.

It’s 4,728mm long, 2,100mm wide including the mirrors, 1,354mm high and has a 2,700mm wheelbase. There’s forged aluminium multi-link suspension all round, with active dampers which are transversely linked across the car, active anti-roll bars and rear-wheel steering and electro-mechanically assisted steering. There’s an electronically controlled limited-slip differential and the whole lot weighs a fairly porky 1,970kg.

Perhaps surprisingly, it doesn’t meet the latest Euro 7 emissions standards, although Mercedes says it could pass the more stringent test if and when required. So, it’s a dinosaur, though not quite as stentorian as it used to be since noise and emissions regulations have reduced the exhaust noise to the extent they have to amplify it and broadcast it back into the interior.

All the same, if you start it up, it clanks like the steam valves on a locomotive as it warms and when you rev it the off-beat exhaust note never lets you forget how many pistons are punching in the bores. It’s very old school – and none the worse for it.

Interior appointments

Climb in and there’s a tad less space than the old model (to cram in those rear seats/parcel shelf), although it’s surprisingly spacious. There’s a lot of interior, though, poking at you with garish bright metal fretwork, black leather with white stitching (other interior upholstery is available), fabric panels and carbon-fibre inserts; it’s a bit of a cliché, but then when were Mercedes coupés not?

The touchscreen doesn’t help as it looks jammed into the fascia like an annoying iPad while the steering wheel is simply covered in switches, all far too easy to inadvertently operate while parking.

Look back in the door mirrors and all you can see is rear wheelarches and there’s no sense of where the car ends and begins, so thank goodness for parking sensors. Especially so given the impossible vulnerability of the 21-inch wheels wearing 30 per cent profile tyres.

The boot is huge, more week than weekend away.

On the road

You growl out of the car park mindful of the vulnerable wheels, the exhaust gurgling and popping gently as you shunt through town. Open the window, however, and you quickly realise these theatrics are all in-house, rather than coming from the exhaust and terrifying the villagers.

There are a number of driving settings, but in its most docile Comfort mode the Merc rides sensibly, even over sleeping policemen. Some of the UK’s larger potholes, however, will not have occurred even in the worst nightmares of a Mercedes-AMG engineer; the wheels crash around like pots and pans in a TV chef’s kitchen.

Move from Comfort to Sport and the steering gains a delicious weight and precision. This big car turns into corners with an imperious authority, although I could have done with a bit more feedback to the rim. On damp roads, by the time you’ve selected Sport+ you are holding on like grim death, such is the unleashed power.

But apart from the obvious risks to licence and limb, a couple of things hold you back from exploring the outer limits. First is the impression from the driver’s seat that the world has just emerged shrunken, like wool socks after a boil wash. This car feels huge and wide, with no sense of it shrinking around you as you speed up.

The other thing is that while the grip of the Michelin tyres is tenacious, there’s little warning when they do let go, which is a bit daunting. This would be a joy on a sinuous sun-kissed Alpine pass; on a wet and freezing country road, it’s an exercise in self-control and anticipation. I used full throttle three times and twice had to back off quickly as the horizon came to meet me like an incoming tax bill.

Because my goodness this car is fast, yet less of a bludgeon than the previous model, with more nuance to the reaction from the accelerator pedal. The turbochargers spin up quickly, however, so there’s lots of mid-range power as well as a shattering top end.

The Telegraph verdict

Although we lost the Jaguar F-Type and Audi R8 last year, big-engined roadburning rivals aren’t quite as thin on the ground as you might imagine. At the top end, there’s the £186,000 Ferrari Roma, the £185,555 McLaren Artura, the £185,000 Aston Martin DB12 or the £236,600 Bentley Continental GT. Then there’s the technically brilliant Lexus LC500, the evergreen Porsche 911 and Maserati’s well-received GranTurismo.

In other words, the GT has to be good and a step up from the first generation car. Fortunately, it is, although to avoid looking like a co-respondent you need to be careful with colour (there’s a fantastic blue) and ditch the rear wing.

The new GT seems like a genuine step forward from the slightly one-dimensional first generation, although £165,000 seems an almighty price for that more rounded character.

The facts

On test: Mercedes-AMG GT63 4Matic+ Premium Plus

Body style: three-door GT coupé

On sale: now

How much? £164,905 as tested (range from £101,695)

How fast? 196mpg electronically limited, 0-62mph in 3.2sec

How economical? 20mpg (WLTP Combined), 15mpg on test

Engine & gearbox: 3,982cc V8 petrol, nine-speed automatic gearbox, four-wheel drive

Maximum power/torque: 577bhp @ 5,500rpm/ 590lb ft @ 2,500rpm

CO2 emissions: 319g/km (WLTP Combined)

VED: £2,745 first year, £600 next five years, then £190

Warranty: three years/unlimited mileage

The rivals

Porsche 911 GT3, from £157,300

Ferdinand Porsche’s rear-engined coupé is still going strong after 60 years and eight generations. The range is bewildering and at the top end (Turbos, GT3s, RS and cabriolets) costs serious money, especially the £200,600 Turbo 50 Years anniversary model. This starter GT3 produces 503bhp from a 4.0-litre flat-six engine, is capable of 0-62mph in 3.4sec and has a 193mph top speed.

Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo, from £178,330

Available in two versions, with the V6 Nettuno engine which debuted in the MC20 supercar. The 476bhp Modena and the 534bhp Trofeo both have an eight-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive. Top speed for the latter is 199mph, with 0-62mph in 3.5sec. There’s also an EV version, named Folgore.

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2025-01-28T07:32:49Z