AWD-Only 2023 Mercedes-AMG GT Arrives With 577bhp And Rear Seats

The Mercedes-AMG GT coupe is back, only this time, it’s a little different. The AMG SL has been used as a starting point, which means two things - it’s all-wheel drive, and it has an optionally-available extra pair of seats in the back.

The old AMG GT coupe was strictly rear-wheel drive, but for the new car, AWD is your only option. The outgoing GT was also only a two-seater, and although the chairs in the rear of the new one aren’t huge (it’s classed as a 2+2), that’s a welcome bit of practicality that anyone currently Porsche 911 shopping might take note of.

There’s less change under the bonnet, where once again your choices are a V8, or…a V8. And that’s just fine by us. In both instances, you get Mercedes-AMG’s widely used 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, with the version in the entry-level AMG GT55 matching the output of the SL 55 at 469bhp and 516lb ft of torque. This provides a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 183mph.

Not enough for you? The AMG GT63 - which, perhaps unsurprisingly, has the same figures as the SL 63 - is good for 577bhp and 590lb ft of torque, making for 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 196mph. Whichever one you go for, the V8 is hooked up to a nine-speed automatic gearbox, in place of the old seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. It’s unclear if a four-cylinder engine - as used by the AMG SL43 - will appear in an ‘AMG GT43’ at any point, but we wouldn’t rule it out.

The chassis features the in theory ideal arrangement of double wishbones front and rear,  with “semi-active anti-roll stabilisation” at both ends, adaptive dampers and a rear-wheel steering system. Much like SL. You’re likely sensing a theme here.

There are 20-inch wheels all round (21s are available optionally), which on the car in the press pack are shod in the new Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tyre. Being all-wheel drive, you get much bigger boots at the front than before, measuring 295/35, with 305/35 sizing at the rear. Beneath the wheel/tyre combo are 390mm front brakes squeezed by six-piston calipers, with 360mm rotors and single-piston floating calipers at the back.

The presence of rear seats means a visibly much larger cabin from the outside, with a roofline that gently slopes right down to the rear of the car. It’s not all that far from the silhouette of the old GT, though, particularly with that long bonnet. Inside, meanwhile, it’s all very similar to the SL, with a minimalistic dashboard and a chunky central tunnel from which a 12.8-inch portrait touchscreen display diagonally protrudes.

A price hasn’t been disclosed just yet, but the new AMG GT is likely to take a big step up in this regard if the SL is anything to go by. As a reminder, the SL55 is £147,475, while the SL63 is a whopping £171,725. We’d expect the GT to be a little cheaper, but not by much.