Mercedes-AMG GT 63 EV: £160k hyper-saloon makes up for the V8

Somewhere between Malaga and the Ascari circuit, focused on driving a car this powerful on roads this demanding, I lost sight of the fact that the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe was electric.

Mostly because the driving experience just feels so alluringly familiar. For starters, it is very deliberately not silent in its more sporting driving modes: select the AMGForce option, and it sounds for all the world like a traditional combustion-engined AMG model. Loud, brutish, unapologetic. The synthetic revs rise and fall, the seat vibrates, and the paddles trigger a jolt that feels, absurdly, like a gearshift. It is a carefully orchestrated illusion, all played through a series of speakers, and for a mile or two on those Andalusian roads in the mid-range GT 55 4Matic+, it worked a treat.

This is AMG's first dedicated electric model, built on the AMG.EA platform with an 800-volt electric architecture and axial-flux motors developed with Yasa, the Oxford firm Mercedes-Benz acquired in 2021. A GT SUV follows early next year, then a GT SUV Coupe, giving AMG three models to take on the Porsche Taycan and Cayenne Electric, plus the Lotus Emeya and Eletre.

The GT 63 4Matic+ is the flagship. Its three motors – one front, two rear – deliver up to 1169bhp and 1475lb ft in 63-second bursts (appropriately), dropping to a sustained 721bhp and 811lb ft during constant throttle running. The lower-powered 55 4Matic+ uses the same drivetrain layout, serving up 816bhp and 1328lb ft, though also settles for a milder continuous output to protect the battery and motors under sustained load. The GT 63 hits 62mph in a claimed 2.4sec and 124mph in an even more impressive 6.4sec. Top speed is limited to 186mph with the optional Driver's Package, or 155mph as standard. The GT 55 dispatches 0-62mph in around 3.0sec, though final figures are unconfirmed.

The motors are of axial-flux rather than radial-flux construction, allowing a flatter, lighter housing than any electric motor AMG has used before. Each rear unit measures just 80mm in width and weighs 24kg.

A 106kWh battery sits low in the floor and centre tunnel, with 2660 cylindrical cells and oil cooling. AMG claims 600kW peak charging, enough to add 286 miles in ten minutes, it says. During a demonstration at Ascari, the GT 63 pulled a mind-boggling 637kW, hinting at conservative claims. The WLTP range is put at between 370 to 432 miles, depending on the model.

At 5094mm in length, 1959mm in width and just 1411mm in height, the GT sits 40mm lower than its V8 forebear. An adjustable rear spoiler and active diffuser contribute to aerodynamics, but the shape is cleaner and less aggressive than the figures suggest.