Mercedes’ focus has recently been on their all-electric EQ department recently but fear not AMG fans because they haven’t forgotten about us. Enter the Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance. How about that for a name!
This monstrous family sedan is Mercedes’ first performance PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) and boy is it a good one. The V8 biturbo engine is the same 4.0 litre unit used in the regular AMG GT63 but this time it is boosted by electric power. A 150kW electric motor offers the boost and 12km of EV only range. With the battery and electric motor slung over the rear, the weight distribution is pretty perfect.
Combine the two sources of power and you have a whopping 1,400Nm of torque and 620kW of power. That equates to 843 bhp by the way. What the heck is that sort of power doing in a family sedan?! And it gets crazier. That monumental performance comes with a combined fuel consumption rating of 8.6l per 100km!
As a result of this brutality, the GT63S E Performance will do the 0-100 sprint in 2.9 seconds and go all the way to 316km/hr.
The car uses several learnings from Mercedes’ racing teams including the battery. This is a battery unlike any other, packing double the power density of conventional EV batteries. There are a few body panels which are also unique to the ‘E Performance’ but the biggest giveaway is probably in the form of the side mounted badges.
Because of the unique performance bend of this car, the rear mounted electric drivetrain had to have its own two-speed gearbox in addition to the 9-speed auto. There is also an e-LSD (electronic limited slip differential) mounted at the rear. Mercedes call this the ‘P3 hybrid’. They even had to develop a special temperature management and cooling system because the battery is so extreme.
The car will start up in ‘silent mode’ but then you have 7 AMG ‘DYNAMIC SELECT’ modes including ‘Electric’, ‘Comfort’, ‘Sport’, ‘Sport+’, ‘Race, ‘Slippery’ and ‘Individual’. The battery also has four regeneration modes: ‘Level 0’, ‘Level 1’, ‘Level 2’, ‘Level 3’ and ‘RACE’. This really is an extreme machine!
If that wasn’t crazy enough, Mercedes-AMG’s brand ambassador, will.i.am is fronting the marketing campaign. The campaign is called “anything but quiet” and the artist will be creating a song for the launch as well!
