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Bloomberg
On its website, Mercedes-Benz describes the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT63 S as “a four-door supercar.â€
This is a bit much, notwithstanding the fact that at 16 mpg in the city, it is about as thirsty as one. Mention a supercar built for four and image of the $1.7 million Koenigsegg Gemera would spring to mind, or the menacing and tactical Lamborghini Urus, or even the Ferrari GTC4Lusso. Not a car that, from the outside, looks like what it is: a Mercedes sedan.
But a week behind the wheel of this $162,000 beast has left people disinclined to argue with the marketing tagline. With surgically precise handling and the amount of horsepower that, come to think of it, only actual supercars possessed even just a decade ago, Mercedes-AMG’s latest baby can compete with and dominate cars that look and sound far wilder—even with its roomy back seat.
Here is an easy way to wrap your head around the GT 63 S if you find Mercedes’s nomenclature confusing and opaque: It is just like the brand’s top-of-the-line sports car, the AMG GT coupe, but with a rear seat. In fact, it’s the first AMG GT car ever to have four doors and four seats.
The AMG GT possessed an exhilarating personality and was “truly memorable†inside and out. It was greater than the sum of its parts. The GT 63 S is like that too—and more—even if it doesn’t have quite the same appeal. The AMG GT 63 S had unrelenting contact with the road, thanks its all-wheel-drive system and rear-axle steering.
Zero to 60 mph takes 3.1 seconds, beating the GT by more than half a second. Top speed is 196 mph. Drift mode, (Just push a button, and that standard AWD shifts to rear-wheel drive for tasty donuts.)
The GT 63 S has higher horsepower and torque than its two-door sibling, but it also has to do with its usability. The sedan comes with four seats that fit real adults, as well as 12.7 cubic feet of storage space. The rear hatch closes automatically at the push of a button; the multiple cupholders and inductive cell-phone chargers make it as handy for commuters as for speed demons. Such strong combination of practicality and performance lends the AMG GT 63 S the de facto edge as a daily driver, compared to its sportier-looking sibling. This is a car that will be loved, just like the GT—but it will also be used.
What’s more, the GT 63 S can soften its tightly tuned suspension—which was a big part of why it was so fun to drive in the hills around LA—to a more comfortable mode. This adds a further layer of usability.
High-Tech Interior
As with the S Class, Mercedes has made the interior of the GT 63 S Coupe the best on today’s market. Those who love to have the most advanced safety, entertainment, and wellness technology in a vehicle will do no better than this. The multicolour ambient lighting that bathes the cabin in a soft glow may not
appeal to traditionalists.
Simple things made a world of difference in the ease of using this car: illuminated door sills (all the better for fishing out keys, lipsticks, and cell phones in the dark); the keyless start function; instant bluetooth connectivity; dual-zone climate control; heated seats; and a host of parking assists.
The factory name for it is “644 designo Brilliant Blue Magno.†When combined with the matte carbon fiber trim on the wheels, grille, and doors, it was enough to grab the attention of several drivers sufficiently in the know to recognize what it signaled.
Blue Magno and the associated trim cost $6,800 extra. That’s not all that much, considering that the price of the car was $199,910, including such options as the carbon fiber roof ($3,000); an aerodynamics package with, among other things, a front splitter and rear diffuser ($2,850); and carbon ceramic brakes ($8,950).
You’ve got to have something to let everyone else on the road know what lurks inside this unassuming sedan. Just like that exclusive paint colour, this car is very special.
