The red mist has just descended upon me, and that’s a good thing.
It’s my second four-lap stint in the 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe on the Circuit of the Americas outside Austin, Texas, and four-time DTM champion Bernd Schneider is leading the way in an AMG GT-R. He just took off like a, well, like a four-time DTM champion. Pressed to keep up, I start to get sloppy. I charge a little too hard into corners, brake a little too late, and miss a few apexes.
Until now I basically thought this car was perfect. Now I get to find out what it does when pushed to its (and my) limits.
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe, Circuit of the Americas, September, 2018
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe, Circuit of the Americas, September, 2018
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe, Circuit of the Americas, September, 2018
The AMG GT 4-Door Coupe (it’s not really a coupe; it’s a four-door hatchback) is no lightweight. Sized like an E-Class sedan or a Porsche Panamera, the big fastback weighs in at about 4,500 pounds. It shares its basic architecture with the E-Class and its derivative, the CLS-Class coupe-like sedan, but the body wears a unique design and AMG engineers have taken numerous measures to strengthen it. That work has paid off in a car that drives much smaller than its size and weight.
I’ve driven fatties on this track before and they want to run wide in the esses between turns 2 through 6, then plow forward in fits of understeer in the sharp left-right-left combo of turns 7, 8, and 9. Turns 7-9 especially tax the agility of a car, and during my first session, when I was going maybe 80 percent, the GT 4-Door Coupe wasn’t fazed. I was impressed.
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe, Circuit of the Americas, September, 2018
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe, Circuit of the Americas, September, 2018
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe, Circuit of the Americas, September, 2018
Now, however, I’m driving at 90 and sometimes 101 percent of my capability, and the car’s weight is beginning to become apparent. Turn-in is still razor sharp—as long as I remember that, yes, you have to brake for turns if you want to keep pace with a German racing legend. The 14.1:1 steering ratio is fairly quick, the front end responds right now, and the variable ratio steering gets sharper the farther off center I turn the wheel. Any understeer I induce with my overzealous driving is easily remedied with a harder stab of the brake pedal, which triggers immense stopping power from the mammoth carbon ceramic brakes at all four corners—15.8-inch rotors up front with 6-piston calipers, 15.3-inch rotors out back with 4-piston calipers.
Long at a 199.2 inches overall, the GT’s rear end is willing to follow the front like that of a smaller car. Here the culprit is the standard rear-wheel steering system that can turn the rear wheels 2.5 degrees opposite of the fronts for added agility at speeds up to 62 mph. Above that speed, this system can also turn the rear wheels a half a degree with the fronts for stability.
A standard electronic limited-slip rear differential (eLSD) helps in turns and when coming out of them. It has a clutch that can send the power to the outside wheel for additional agility, and lock up to provide stability and traction for the massive 315 mm Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ss to bite into the pavement when flooring it for the straight.
I can almost keep pace in the straights; 630 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque from a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 will do that. The V-8 barks and pops and crackles and slingshots the GT 4-Door from 0-60 mph in a scant 3.1 seconds on its way to a top speed of 195 mph. I can operate the 9-speed via steering wheel paddles, but the computer picks the right gears for me. I see 157 mph before turn 12 even though I brake fairly early. This wonderful little V-8 just pulls and pulls.
On the second lap around, I miss the apexes of 7 and 8, but not by much, and I overrun turn 11 by a few feet. It’s all for naught. I’m not going to catch Herr Schneider; he’s in a faster car and he’s a much better driver. But I’ve already learned that the GT 4-Door has a short recovery time when I get it out of sorts, and it’s made for this type of duty.
I calm down, let the red mist fade away, and concentrate on hitting my marks and enjoying the car. The 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is, after all, a new benchmark for sport “sedan” performance. Move over, M5.
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe, Circuit of the Americas, September, 2018
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe, Circuit of the Americas, September, 2018
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe, Circuit of the Americas, September, 2018
Stiff competition
The AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is based the Mercedes’ Modular Rear Architecture (MRA) platform that provides the basis for the C-Class, E-Class, CLS-Class models. It is closest in concept to the CLS, though its wheelbase is stretched a half inch to 116.2 inches and it’s a pure hatchback while the CLS is a four-door sedan with a fast coupe-like roofline.
Mercedes-AMG adds several stiffening measures to the platform. Up front, it gets an aluminum sheer panel that rests under the engine and between the front subframe rails, a pair of aluminum front strut domes, and a steel lower strut brace on each side. Together these components help stiffen the front end against twisting along the longitudinal and transverse axes. This structure has to contribute to the car’s immediate and satisfying turn-in response.
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe
The middle of the body adds three additional braces, while the rear adds a large U-shaped aluminum crossmember, a steel V-brace, and a carbon-fiber load compartment recess. Part of the rear load floor is also stronger aluminum and each side of the rear hatch area adds an angled steel brace. Finally, a carbon-fiber rear bulkhead is added between the cabin and rear cargo area in U.S. cars. Those with the optional Executive Rear Seat Package get a 40/20/40 split-folding rear seat that uses a different means of stiffening that bulkhead structure.
Mercedes-AMG isn’t saying how much stiffer the GT 4-Door Coupe is than a comparable E-Class sedan or CLS, but with all those measures, it’s obvious this car is considerably more rigid.
The suspension consists of three-chamber air springs with adjustable adaptive dampers at all four corners. The rear suspension geometry is a five-link setup similar to that of the E-Class and CLS, but AMG engineers made adjustments to the toe, camber, and bump steer settings for the car’s improved sportiness. The air springs lower the ride height 0.6 inch in Sport+ and Track modes.
Tech overload
Mercedes also offers Slippery, Comfort, Sport, and Individual modes to tailor the driving experience to the situation. The Individual mode lets the driver choose various settings for the engine/transmission, suspension, and an AMG Dynamics mode, and it also offers manual or automatic shifting—all at the touch of a button.
The AMG Dynamics mode can be further tailored to control the flow of power in the 4Matic+ aIl-wheel-drive system (all the power can go to the rear or up to 50 percent can head to the front), rear-wheel steering, stability control, and eLSD. Buttons are also provided to switch directly between manual and automatic shifting, the various suspension modes, and to open and close the flaps in the active exhaust.
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For my track antics, I first choose Sport+, then switch over to Race. Neither mode interrupts power or allows the stability control to step in too quickly to get the car back on the correct line when I let it slide forward or kick out the tail. With those wide tires and the eLSD, the rear end is incredibly planted, so it takes a purposeful act to induce oversteer.
Drivers will want to use the Comfort setting for most everyday driving, and even then the GT’s ride is firm along the lines of the current M5. It’s livable, but far from E-Class smooth.
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe
2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe
Combo cabin
With low sills and high seat bolsters, getting in the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe requires a duck and a twist. Once inside, the sport seats are like your weird aunt: they’ll hug you a little too hard and as long as you’ll let them. The widest setting for the bottom bolsters works for my slightly too wide bottom, but these seats are not sized for the full-figured gentlemen.
The rear seat, however, has great space for the kids or another couple. Both head room and leg room are ample, and the GT 4-Door offers real utility with split-folding rear seats and its hatchback body style. Mercedes-AMG offers a pair of two-passenger arrangements, one with a central touchscreen that lets rear occupants control various climate and infotainment features. European cars also get a three-passenger bench.
All passengers are treated to current levels of Mercedes luxury, which set the bar for the market. The cabin is awash in fine leathers, polished aluminum trim, and a choice of two types of wood, two types of carbon-fiber, or piano black decor. Mercedes even includes its Energizing Comfort system that uses the seat heating and ventilation, climate control, fragrance, music, and lighting functions to create 10-minute programs meant to relax the driver.
The high dashboard comes with two 12.3-inch screens set together under one piece of glass. It creates a high dash line that will require shorter drivers to set their seating position a bit higher.
A true AMG
The 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is the first four-door built from the ground up by AMG. In addition to the 630-hp 63 S model, Mercedes-AMG will offer a 63 model that makes 577 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque and a 53 model with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-6 good for 429 hp and 384 lb-ft of twist. Pricing hasn’t been announced for any of the models, but expect six figures and something near $200,000 for the 63 S when the cars hit the U.S. market early next year.
All the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe models will offer a fantastic combination of power, handling, space, comfort, and luxury, but the 63 S really comes to life when it sets your blood aboil on a racetrack—even if it means you have to combat the red mist.
Mercedes-Benz provided travel and lodging to Internet Brands Automotive to bring you this firsthand report.
