What is it: The four-door coupe class — Mercedes CLS and GT coupe, Audi A7, Porsche Panamera — is only a few years old but growing fast. Even VW with its Arteon and Buick with the new Regal Sportback are getting in on the act. This GT63 S tops AMG’s four-door coupe lineup in terms of price, horsepower, performance, you name it, over the GT53 and GT63.
Key Competitors: Porsche Panamera, Audi RS7
Base Price: $160,995 As-Tested Price: $189,360
Full review: 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT63 S first drive
Highlights: Mercedes-Benz introduced its three new AMG GT coupe models at last year’s Geneva show. All have all-wheel drive (4Matic) and nine-speed transmissions. Engine choices are the new turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six or the mighty 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. The hand-built V8 in the S model puts up monstrous numbers: 630 hp, 664 lb-ft, 0-60 mph in 3.1 seconds, 195-mph top speed … incredible.
Our Opinion: Mercedes calls the AMG GT four-door coupe line its “first four-door sports car,” giving the impression it’s a GT with two extra doors. It’s not, though. It’s actually a hatchback that is part E-Class and part CLS. Mercedes says the design follows the company’s “sensual purity” philosophy: long hood, two power domes, low greenhouse, AMG’s new grille and shark nose front bumper … you get the idea. I think the car looks good, nice and clean. I spent a few days in a GT53, and that car got just a ton of compliments. Everybody loved the shape or the color — designo brilliant blue mango ($3,950, and worth it) — or both. The Jupiter red color on the 63 S looks good, too, though I’d opt out of the aerodynamic package and its fixed rear wing and save $2,850 in the process.
Jump in and there’s quite a bit more room inside than I would have guessed, especially rear headroom (the car is nearly 2 inches wider and almost 3 inches longer than an E-Class). Build quality and materials are excellent, as one expects, and while the thin sport seats are a little tight for me, they’re not too bad. The giant double screen, stretching almost the whole width of the interior, is no longer controlled by a dial on the center console. In its place is a mousepad-type controller. I don’t love it. I liked the knob.
The 630-hp figure means I’m tooling around in the most powerful car Mercedes builds at the moment, and it feels like it. The first couple stabs at the accelerator actually scare me a bit — it’s not every day I’m in a car this powerful. Off the line, the car is neck-snapping fast, and the nine-speed multiclutch shifts are seamless. Triple digits come up really quick, and the car feels like it could just keep accelerating endlessly, like the 195-mph top speed wouldn’t take that long to hit. It sounds fantastic, too. There aren’t too many engines that howl like this one.
And (surprise!) the ride isn’t too bad. While the GT53 has steel springs and adaptive damping, the V8 models have a multichamber air suspension, also with adaptive dampers. Sport and sport-plus modes, adjusting throttle mapping, damper stiffness and steering characteristics firm things up considerably. As I usually do in whatever adjustable suspension car I’m driving, I like comfort the best for Detroit’s potholes, expansion joints and what have you.
The GT63 S is sharp on the track, too, as we found out at Circuit of the Americas, where it was fast with nicely weighted steering and (thankfully) awesome brakes.
So here we have a nicely built, outrageously fast practical car that hauls the family and is fun on a track, if you dare take it to one. The sticker price is stout: My test car’s read $189,360, so the fun isn’t coming cheap.
–Wes Raynal, editor
Base Price: $160,995
As-Tested Price: $189,360
Drivetrain: 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, nine-speed multiclutch automatic, AWD
Output: 630 hp @ 5,500-6,500 rpm; 664 lb-ft @ 2,500-5,000 rpm
Curb Weight: 4,758 lb
Fuel Economy (EPA City/Highway/Combined): 15/20/17 mpg
Pros: Breathtaking speed
Cons: Breathtaking price
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