Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Review 2025

That such a bruiser of a coupe powered by a suite of powerful petrol-fuelled engine exists should be celebrated, especially as it could well be among the last new cars of its kind to be launched. Yet ultimately, ambiguity about whether this is a grand tourer, as its name suggests, or a sports car conspires to dilute its appeal. Find out why in our full Mercedes-AMG GT review.

This is the German brand’s second iteration of its Mercedes-AMG GT coupe but despite looking similar to its muscular predecessor, the recipe has been tweaked. This time around it feels less brutal, less lairy and less exotic as a result.

That softening-off of its predecessor’s extremes could potentially broaden this generation model’s appeal, yet it’s hampered by a lack of clarity about what it is. GT — short for grand tourer in English — implies a comfort-biased four-seater that’s able to gobble-up miles on cross-continental jaunts with ease, but it’s a tad too firm for that and the rear seats won’t accommodate adults, or bulkier child seats for that matter.

So, the Mercedes-AMG GT’s a mis-named sports car, then? Well, no, it does really fulfil that brief either lacking the consummate all-round abilities of the evergreen Porsche 911. 

Instead, it’s somewhere in between, which ultimately means it lacks satisfaction, yet — perhaps ironically — that it neither tries to out-911 the Porsche or carve a niche as a relatively cut-price Bentley Continental GT gifts the Mercedes an appeal of its own. Almost.

What prevents it from being truly in a class of one is another model from the same stable — the Mercedes-AMG SL roadster. This time around the long-running soft-top and the GT coupe have been co-developed and are now different sides of the same coin rather than separate model lines aimed at disparate clientele. 

That the Mk2 Mercedes-AMG GT exists at all is reason to celebrate because girthy performance cars propelled by high-powered combustion engines are evidently a dying breed with the imminent onset of full electrification not too far down the line. Consequently, cars that could be considered rivals are few and far between.

Chief among them are the soon-to-be-discontinued BMW 8 Series Coupe, including the flagship M8 Competition derivative, as well as the visual delight which is the Maserati GranTurismo.

Elsewhere, pickings are thin: both the Audi R8 and the Jaguar F-Type are no more, and while the Lexus LC has also been retired, the Japanese luxury brand is set to launch a new high-performance coupe in the near future. Whether it’s targeting this Mercedes remains to be seen.

Given such powerful petrol engines are soon destined for the annals of automotive history, you’d be forgiven for assuming that the Mercedes-AMG GT engine range might be restricted to one, maybe two choices. Not a bit of it — there are five alternatives to pick between.

Gateway to this Mercedes range is the GT43 using a four-cylinder twin-turbocharged 2.0-litre motor. Yes, you read that correctly — a 2.0-litre. It produces a healthy 421PS meaning it isn’t that far shy of the entry-level 4.0-litre V8 found under the bonnet of the 476PS GT55.

That same engine has its output dialled-up even further for the 585PS GT63 and the 612PS GT63 Pro, although the gutsiest offering among these Mercedes-AMGs takes the latter of those V8s and adds a power-enhancing plug-in hybrid system elevating the GT63S E Performance’s output to 816PS.

None of the Mercedes-AMG GTs are short of urgency, with even the 43 model reaching a maximum of 174mph and dashing from 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds. It misses out on the aural drama of the V8s, although much of the burbling heard from the driver’s seat is courtesy of what’s piped through its speakers.

Tiny rear seats aside, the AMG GT feels very familiar to other models from the marque, not least the Mercedes CLE Coupe range. While that means it has a whole host of on-board tech that works very effectively and looks slick, it also lacks the material quality gravitas considering the least-costly version starts in the ballpark of £105,500. 

Mercedes-AMG GT63S E Performance: Range and charging

No, that’s not a typo — the Mercedes-AMG GT63S E Performance really does have an electric-only driving range of just seven miles according to the official WLTP test.

It’s vital to understand from the outset that this PHEV exists as a method to bolster performance far more than it is to offer an inexpensive-to-run version of this big coupe. In fact, in conventional terms, as a plug-in hybrid it’s a disappointingly weak offering, especially alongside the two options available in the Bentley Continental GT.

The AMG GT’s small electric range is down to the tiny capacity of its high-voltage battery pack, holding just 4.84kWh of energy — that’s not much bigger than some mild hybrids are fitted with. Yet, despite that smallness, recharging from 25-100% is quoted at 3 hours 40 minutes — slow because it’s restricted by a 3.7kW AC on-board charger.

If you’re considering switching to this second-generation Mercedes-AMG GT as an owner of its predecessor, the chances are you’re going to be disappointed. It feels less dramatic, arguably less of a blunt instrument and consequently has lost some of its appeal as a result.

But in its quest for relative softness, Mercedes has made it less of brutal sports car yet one shy of the delicacy provided by the Porsche 911, while simultaneously not being sufficiently supple and cosseting to be a capable grand tourer.

Yet there’s a curiousness to the Mercedes-AMG GT in that while it satisfies neither brief, it isn’t devoid of character. Without wishing to sound as though we’re paying it a back-handed compliment, that it feels flawed amplifies its appeal. After all, why make a coupe that feels like a 911 facsimile to drive — here Mercedes has succeeded in making it different.

As per usual modern Mercedes norms, a variety of driving modes are available, including the ability to tailor your own parameters in an Individual setting. For the vast majority of the time Comfort mode is the selection of choice, being easy to modulate for urban driving and proving to be a relaxed motorway cruiser without tweaking the settings.

On windier, undulating A- and B-roads, switching the engine to Sport mode but keeping everything else in Comfort feels like a sensible compromise. Having the suspension in a firmer setting on rougher, broken surfaces which are typical across many stretches of the UK’s road network makes the GT feel unsettled, exacerbated by very wide tyres, whereas the Comfort’s compliance absorbs more of those imperfections, albeit not perfectly.

With the engine in Sport — or even Sport+ — mode for such jaunts, the immediacy of the power delivery is welcome, allowing the Mercedes to slingshot out of corners with greater alacrity, safe and secure that grip’s plentiful with the 4Matic+ four-wheel drive system fitted to the V8-engined versions. It can be made to feel more playful with the rear wheels sliding out when provoked, particularly in slippery conditions, but the AMG’s traction and stability software gathers matters together quickly.

What you’re always aware of is the AMG GT’s heft, with the lightest version in the range tipping the scales at a portly 1974kg. While the Mercedes does feel agile, it’s not sports car-lithe, with a series of sweeping fast corners reminding you of its mass shifting left and right accordingly. While it’s not conducive to super-fast driving, it lends the car something of an old-school charm, even though its body control ensures it doesn’t lean too wildly through those bends.

You won’t need forearms like Popeye to steer the Mercedes-AMG GT but the weightiness of the wheel feels appropriate for its heaviness, matched well with the pressure required to operate the brake and throttle pedals. They’re substantial without feeling tiresomely ache-inducing after a long drive.

Comfort remained our preferred steering setting on all manner of roads, with ample traction ensuring it changes direction exactly as you’d want it to. The speed or directional reactions to relatively small inputs of the wheel, so you may find yourself initially winding back off the wheel upon recognising you’re trajectory’s tighter than intended.

Braking performance is impressive, easy to modulate from both low and high speeds, demonstrating safe, predictable and controllable stopping power when you call upon them. 

For a model that’s a relatively niche choice, a broad suite of five engine choices for the Mercedes-AMG GT is rather unusual.

Four of them are petrol-only while the fifth is a plug-in hybrid, albeit where the electrification is used to bolster performance rather than out-and-out fuel efficiency. All engines are twin-turbocharged, with the V8-configuration models featuring 4Matic+ four-wheel drive instead of powering the rear wheels-only.

All versions transmit the engine power to the driven wheels via a nine-speed multi-clutch automatic gearbox.

Gateway to this Mercedes-AMG range is the GT43, which despite the numerals indicating otherwise — a misleading quirk across the whole line-up — doesn’t feature a 4.3-litre engine. Instead, there’s a four-cylinder 2.0-litre motor slotted under the bonnet — although the capacity doesn’t sound impressive, it’s cranked-up to produce a mighty 421PS of power and 500Nm of torque.

Although it’s the entry-point model, and therefore the slowest of those available, it still reaches a top speed of 174mph and dispatches the 0-62mph benchmark in 4.6 seconds.

Perhaps the sweetest spot in the line-up is the GT55 4Matic+, with the least powerful incarnation of the 4.0-litre V8 engine available here. Its 476PS output isn’t massively higher than the GT43’s sum, but its 700Nm of torque is a significant uplift.

That results in the 0-62mph time being shaved down to 3.9 seconds while it will run on to a top speed of 183mph. There’s an enticingly throaty V8 rumble to the engine, although this is augmented through the speakers courtesy of the AMG Real Performance Sound feature, but plenty of pedestrian head-turning confirms it’s suitably fruity from the exhaust as well.

Using fundamentally the same V8 engine is the GT63 4Matic+, now with outputs elevated to 585PS and 800Nm of torque. This is the mid-point of the range, with a 3.2-second 0-62mph time and an electronically capped top speed of 196mph.

Next rung up this Mercedes-AMG ladder is the GT63 Pro 4Matic+, the ante now upped to 612PS and 850Nm. This doesn’t result in a major performance uplift, though, evidenced by an unchanged 0-62mph time and the governed top speed being increased by 1mph to 197mph.

Topping the range from a performance angle is the Mercedes-AMG GT63S E Performance with no specific reference to it being a plug-in hybrid in its name. That electrification is here primarily to heighten its speed rather than make for a big coupe which can be driven under electric power alone for much distance at all.

Using the 63 Pro’s engine an electric motor amplifies the overall outputs to 816PS and a barely fathomable 1420Nm of torque. Its top speed is also capped — now at 199mph — but the extra oomph of the electrified drive system pares the 0-62mph time down to just 2.8 seconds. 

As is the norm for expensive, more specialist cars, the Mercedes-AMG GT has not been crash-tested and otherwise assessed by the experts at Euro NCAP.

Generally speaking, Mercedes does have a storied and enviable record when it comes to car safety and the AMG GT is packed with all manner of contemporary systems and electronic driver aids.
Standard-fit items across the line-up include a 360-degree camera system, an integrated dashcam, Active Brake Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Blind Spot Assist and Traffic Sign Assist.

Ostensibly there are four seats inside the Mercedes-AMG GT but for most people it makes sense to treat it as a two-seater just as its predecessor was.

Although you sit low down inside the GT, wide doors ensure that access isn’t too awkward, unless you find yourself within the narrow confines of a public car park. Once ensconced inside you’ll find that both front seats are generously proportioned and supportive without being too hip-hugging. Head, elbow and legroom are generous although you will be conscious of your feet being a little restricted space-wise due to the narrowness of the footwells.

Determining a comfortable driving position is easy enough with a broad range of electrical adjustment settings for the seats and steering wheel. All-round visibility is decent and those up front can enjoy the evocative curvature of the bonnet.

By comparison, the two rear seats are far less useful. Due to the GT’s aggressively sloping coupe roofline, headroom is very tight, as is legroom when the front seats are positioned so as to be comfortable for occupants of average height or above. In short, adults won’t fit, but given how bulky many child seats are these days, even those will prove to be a struggle. In fairness, Mercedes does point out that they’re only useable by passengers up to 1.5m tall at most.

Access to the boot is via an enormous, electrically operated tailgate, which opens up to a long, slender and sensibly shaped cargo area. All AMG GTs barring the PHEV-equipped model have a capacity of 321 litres, while the electrified version sees that tumble to 182 litres due to the positioning of the high-voltage battery pack.

For reference, the Porsche 911 holds 135 litres in its front boot, plus a further 261 litres when the rear seats are used as a luggage shelf and Maserati’s GranTurismo can take 310 litres of luggage.

The rear seats of the Mercedes-AMG GT can also be folded over in one piece providing a fairly flat extended 675-litre load-space. 

Storage for odds and ends inside the cabin is decent with a useful lidded cubby beneath the centre armrest, with two cupholders and a wireless smartphone charging pad hidden behind a retractable cover ahead of that. Door bins and the glovebox are also sensibly sized.

We’re not huge fans of the haptic-type steering wheel controls Mercedes feels compelled to fit to all of its models lately. Although their location and labels are intuitive enough, it’s not always easy to know you’re about to operate the desired function without looking at the pads, while their angle makes them somewhat awkward to operate with thumb presses. At least the rotary knobs, complete with integral displays, for adjusting the driving modes and related parameters are a successful inclusion.

Similarly, we would rather the climate control operation wasn’t performed using the multimedia touchscreen, although they are permanently on display towards the lower portion of the display.

Those considering the Mercedes-AMG GT63S E Performance should note that its charge port socket is located behind a flap on the rear bumper, just below the right-hand side tail light.

Nestle yourself into the interior of the Mercedes-AMG GT straight after stepping out of a Mercedes CLE or even the C-Class in the same showroom and you’ll immediately feel and see the resemblance.

On one hand, that’s far from a bad thing as it means that the GT’s bristling with contemporary on-board technology features and is assembled to a good standard using materials which largely feel appropriate. Or rather, they feel more appropriate to those less expensive models than they do here.

Given as the least costly AMG GT is over £100,000 some of the fixtures and fittings either feel as though they’re made from cheaper, lower grade plastics — such as the half-cowls over the driver’s instrumentation screen — or they don’t feel particularly special in relation to less expensive models.

Even features such as the multi-coloured, animated interior LED ambient light show, which looks great, feel less so when you’re reminded that you can have those features on other Mercedes costing well under 50% less. 

Two different screens dominate the Mercedes-AMG GT’s dashboard — a 12.3-inch landscape format driver’s display screen for the instrumentation and an 11.9-inch portrait-oriented multimedia touchscreen for the majority of the car’s functions.

Operating through the firm’s own MBUX system, it includes an integrated navigation package and functions that are logically arranged via a series of menus and illustrated shortcuts. Screen resolution is high and crisp, with finger dabs being responded to the first time of asking on every occasion. 

It's angled in a reclined fashion from the centre console towards the dashboard’s main plane, titled slightly towards the driver for improved ergonomics. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standardised. 

Within the driver-centric display screen you’re able to configure the graphics to display anything from traditional looking dials, to something representing a race car interface, or simply the mapping data. Premium Plus versions fitted with the head-up display feature which projects key information onto the windscreen can similarly configure that to mirror or contrast the theme shown on the screen below it.

All AMG GTs come with a high-end Burmester surround sound speaker system with all manner of configurable parameters for your audio experience, plus their trademark metal finished, cheese-grater look covers. Sound reproduction is especially satisfying, if at little overkill for podcasts and Radio 4.

Given the performance on offer and the three-pointed star logos adorning various aspects of the Mercedes-AMG GT’s bodywork and interior, that it’s expensive shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Premium is the entry-level specification level with the GT43 costing £105,435, the GT55 4Matic+ version £142,200 and the GT63 4Matic+ weighing in at £163,500.

Each is also available in Premium Plus trim for an extra £6100 — that’s the only grade available for the £186,290 GT63S E Performance plug-in hybrid.

That’s the priciest in the range, with the standalone GT63 Pro 4Matic+ listed at £179,350.
How do those figures compare with alternative choices?

The soon-to-be-discontinued BMW 8 Series Coupe costs from £87,120, the Maserati GranTurismo from a minimum of £125,345, while the Porsche 911 will set you back £103,700 in its entry-level form.

Given the Mercedes-AMG GT is a high performance car, you shouldn’t expect it to be inexpensive to run, including with either the 2.0-litre or 4 plug-in hybrid 4.0-litre engine options. The latter is especially disappointing for a PHEV with a small battery yielding a very low electric driving range and only a modest reduction in CO2 emissions.

As a result, the GT63S E Performance has the same 37% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) taxation rate as other non-hybrid models for company car drivers, so it’s unlikely to make many people’s shortlist.

Official WLTP fuel consumption figures suggest that the Mercedes-AMG GT43 will perform best with an average of 27.4mpg, which beats the PHEV-equipped GT63S E Performance’s 26.7mpg figure. All other V8-engined AMG GTs are officially quoted at 20.2mpg — an extended test with the GT55 suggested 19.5mpg was the norm around town, but a steady motorway cruise could yield 25.0mpg if not more.

As prices for all models are well in excess of the £40,000 threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement, payable from years two to six of ownership, there’s no escaping that, or the price of expensive consumables such as tyres, with the narrowest standard front tyres measuring 295mm wide.

In essence there are three levels of specification available for the Mercedes-AMG GT line-up — Premium, Premium Plus and Pro. 

Standard equipment for the Mercedes-AMG GT Premium includes:

• 21-inch AMG 5-twin-spoke alloy wheels painted Tantalite Grey with a high sheen finish
• AMG brake callipers painted Silver — GT43 only
• AMG brake callipers painted Yellow — GT55 and GT63 only
• AMG Ride Control suspension — GT43 only
• AMG Active Ride Control suspension — GT55 and GT63 only
• AMG Night package — dechromed exterior fittings
• Digital LED headlights
• Keyless entry and start with automatically retracting door handles
• Panoramic fixed glass roof
• 360-degree parking camera system with automatic parking function
• Heated, electrically adjustable front seats with memory package
• Nappa leather upholstery
• Heated, Nappa leather-wrapped AMG Performance steering wheel — GT43 and GT55 only
• Heated, Nappa leather and Microcut microfibre-wrapped AMG Performance steering wheel — GT63 only
• Piano Black lacquer-look interior trim elements
• Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity
• MBUX Navigation Premium
• Burmester surround sound speaker system
• Dual-zone climate control
• 64-colour interior LED ambient lighting
• Illuminated door sills

Upgrading to the Mercedes-AMG GT Premium Plus adds:

• 21-inch forged AMG 5-twin-spoke alloy wheels painted Matt Black with a high sheen finish
• AMG high performance ceramic composite brakes with callipers painted Bronze — GT63S E Performance only
• AMG Night package II — dechromed exterior fittings
• Heated, ventilated and massaging electrically adjustable front seats with memory package
• Head-up display
• Augmented reality MBUX Navigation package
• AMG carbon fibre interior trim elements

Flagship of the range from an equipment perspective is the Mercedes-AMG GT Pro which includes:

• 21-inch forged AMG cross-spoke alloy wheels painted Matt Himalaya Grey
• AMG high performance ceramic composite brakes with callipers painted Black
• AMG electronic rear-axle limited slip differential
• AMG Exterior Carbon package — dechromed exterior fittings
• Heated, carbon fibre and Microcut microfibre-wrapped AMG Performance steering wheel