[Auto] 2023 Mercedes-AMG GT to be crowned by 831bhp plug-in hybrid

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Mercedes-Benz’s AMG performance division will launch the second-generation GT in 2023, heavily redesigning and re-engineering the two-door flagship to take on the Porsche 911. 

The new model, known under the internal codename C192, has been twinned with the recently introduced seventh-generation Mercedes-AMG SL. However, it will be produced exclusively in coupé form, leaving the open-top duties to its SL sibling, which now also wears an AMG, rather than a Benz, badge because the performance division took over the engineering programmes for the sporting duo. 

Stylistically, the new GT takes on an evolutionary appearance, with familiar long-bonnet and short-tail proportions. As with the first-generation model, introduced in 2015, it receives a large liftback-style tailgate.

It will likely get a special Edition 1 guise, which has been spotted testing on the outskirts of the Nurburgring. Distinguishable from the standard car by a fixed rear spoiler – which will be exclusive to the Edition 1 – in addition to a modified spoiler lip at the front and carbonfibre styling cues.

Active aerodynamics have played a central role in the development of the new GT, which receives the same front underbody spoiler as the SL. It extends downwards by around 40mm at a speed of 62mph to create a Venturi effect underneath the car, eventually reducing front axle lift by a claimed 50kg at 155mph. At the rear, meanwhile, a wing deploys and tilts in five different stages to increase downforce at speeds above 50mph.

As with the latest SL, the new GT has been developed and engineered in a programme led by AMG but with key input from other Mercedes-Benz divisions. These include the High Performance Powertrain division headquartered in Brixworth, which was also responsible for engineering the Formula 1-derived powertrain in the highly strung Mercedes-AMG One road car, revealed belatedly this year. 

Affalterbach headquarters in Germany have revealed that the company’s 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine, codenamed M178, will feature from the start of second-generation GT sales in 2023 with dry-sump lubrication. Hand-assembled on site, the twin-turbocharged unit is expected to offer a similar output as in the SL, with 469bhp in a new GT 53 model and 577bhp in a successor to the GT 63.

Further models will be added during the new coupé’s life cycle, including more powerful follow-ups to the GT R, GT GT3 and range-topping GT Black Series.

Most intriguingly, AMG is also working on a new GT 63 S E-Performance model running the same petrol-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain as the recently introduced GT 63 S E-Performance 4-Door Coupé. It mates the GT 63’s V8 engine with an electric motor mounted on the rear axle to develop a combined 831bhp and up to 1084lb ft on overboost. If replicated in the GT, that would make this one of the most powerful hybrid coupés on sale in outright terms, eclipsing even the 819bhp Ferrari 296 GTB and the limited-run, 808bhp Lamborghini Sián. 

At this stage, it is not known whether the two-door plug-in hybrid GT will receive the same 6.1kWh battery and corresponding 7.5-mile electric range as its four-door sibling, although an increase in the wheelbase is claimed to have improved packaging.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2023-mercedes-amg-gt-be-crowned-831bhp-plug-hybrid