Mercedes-AMG has finally whipped the covers off the GT 63 S E Performance, the German car manufacturer’s first hybrid performance car.
“With the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance we are transporting our brand DNA into an electrified future,” Philipp Schiemer, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, says. “The performance hybrid offers a fascinating level of driving dynamics and rightly bears our new technology label ‘E Performance’.”
Donning the “E Performance” moniker, the hybrid AMG GT 63 S 4-Door is powered by Affalterbach’s 4,0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 and a permanently excited synchronous electric motor. The internal combustion engine produces 470 kW, available from 5 500 r/min to 6 500 r/min, and 900 N.m of torque, on tap from a lowly 2 500 r/min to 4 500 r/min. Positioned at the rear axle, the electric motor produces 150 kW and 320 N.m.
Together, the petrol-electric arrangement directs 620 kW and “up to” 1 470 N.m to all four corners via Mercedes’ 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive system. According to Mercedes-AMG, the GT 63 S E Performance 4-Door completes the zero to 100 km/h sprint in 2,9 seconds and accelerates from zero to 200 km/h in “less than” 10 seconds. Maximum speed is rated at 316 km/h.
Said Jochen Hermann, technical general manager of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, “The layout with the combustion engine at the front and electric drive unit on the rear axle offers numerous advantages. The optimised weight distribution, best possible utilisation of torque and the very fast power delivery promise driving dynamics at the highest level.”
Developed in-house and inspired by technology from Formula One, Hermann says the high-performance, 400 V battery has twice the power density of conventional drive batteries. The 6.1 kWh unit allows for an electric-only range of 12 km.
