The buzz is heating up around the upcoming four-door coupe version of the Mercedes-AMG GT, portended by the reveal of the GT Concept at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. Since the March event though, little has bubbled to the surface about the potentially landscape-altering new car until now.
Conceived to go head to head with other large super saloons such as the Porsche Panamera, Audi RS7, and BMW M6 Gran Coupe, Mercedes-AMG’s entrant will have roughy the same wheelbase as the E-Class, but is unlikely to be too closely related to the next Benz CLE (replacement for the CLS) that’s due to premiere the marque’s new breed of hybrid-assisted and turbocharged straight-six engines. All three of these cars, however, are purported to share similar underpinnings.
The AMG GT4, as it’s suspected to be called, will presumably stick with the same M178 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine that saw first light in the original AMG GT back in 2014, though the wet-sump M177 version could end up making more sense here. However, as Autocar reports, it very well could arrive with several power outputs, augmented by the electric motors of varying potency.
It goes on to say that in its fastest form, the car will be the most powerful series production model within either the Mercedes-Benz or AMG stable, producing up to 600kW that’s assumed to be delivered through their 4Matic all-wheel drive system. Should it meet the targeted 2018 launch date, competitors will be handily outmatched in terms of sheer pace, though how they respond will be equally interesting.
Only the Mercedes-AMG’s Project One hypercar, which uses a power unit straight out of a Formula 1 racer, will produce more power. That car, however, is going to be a limited run thoroughbred machine that will sell for a truly astronomical price.
The chances of the near-finished car making its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year are very high, evidenced by the prototype’s rather frequent sightings at the Nurburgring where it no doubt is being put through the latter stages of performance and stress testing.
Behind the layers camouflage, it’s possible make out cues that are definitely informed by the GT Concept shown earlier as well as those from Benz’s current crop of cars. Basing initial measurements on said concept, the AMG super saloon should be wider, lower, and longer than what is ostensibly its main rival, the second-generation Porsche Panamera.
The world might have to wait for that 600kW variant, though, as that’s believed follow the lesser-powered versions. Even so, even mid-range offerings should offer close to 447kW thanks to battery and energy regeneration hardware derived from Formula 1.
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