2024 Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance Is an 831-HP 4-Door Hot Rod
When we tested the Mercedes-Benz AMG Hammer back in 1986, we immediately appreciated its rare combination of supercar speed and four-door practicality. To create that 178-mph sedan, AMG stuffed a massaged 5.5-liter V-8 into an E-class, an upscale European interpretation of the oldest hot-rod formula around: Put a big engine into a small car. The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance embraces that old AMG tuner credo with a modern twist—instead of dropping a bigger engine into the GT63, Mercedes adds a whole extra source of propulsion.
Up front, you'll find the same 630-hp turbocharged V-8 that sent the 2019 GT63 S to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 11.0 seconds at 125 mph. But at the rear, a 201-hp electric motor joins the party, powered by a 5-kWh battery and mated to its own two-speed transmission. The hybrid GT63 weighs in at 5252 pounds, a 570-pound gain over its predecessor. AMG minimized the PHEV poundage by making the tactical decision to disregard EV range and optimize the battery for performance. Thus the lithium-ion high-voltage battery weighs just 196 pounds, and the E Performance has an EPA-rated range of one mile. As comically bad as that sounds, the E Performance must be exceptionally inept at the EPA's test regimen, because even that small of a battery should be good for more than a mile of range—we saw an onboard range prediction of eight miles with a full charge.
Those extra 570 pounds have a negligible impact on the E Performance's handling and braking, perhaps because the rearward position of the hybrid hardware imparts a slightly rear-biased weight distribution, with 49.3 percent of the car's mass sitting over the front axle versus 53.9 percent for the nonhybrid GT63 S. (The rear-cargo-area floor is bumped up to accommodate the hybrid components, dropping cargo volume from 16 to 12 cubic feet.) The 2019 GT63 S generated 1.03 g's on the skidpad and stopped from 70 mph in 155 feet, while the E Performance clings to the skidpad with 1.02 g's of grip and hauls down from 70 mph in 158 feet; both wore similar 21-inch Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. These numbers fall squarely into the category of "different, but probably not so you'd notice."
What you do notice is the difference in acceleration. The GT63 S E Performance torches 60 mph in 2.4 seconds and trips the quarter-mile lights in 10.5 seconds at 131 mph. The nine-speed automatic uses a wet clutch rather than a torque converter, so launch control involves a real-deal clutch drop that torments all four tires as the contact patches struggle with a combined 831 horsepower and 1032 pound-feet of torque. The bonkers acceleration flattens out a bit as the electric motor nears its 13,500-rpm max and the rear transmission grabs second gear, which felt like it was around 60 mph even though Mercedes says the shift should happen around 87 mph (we noticed the upshift in the S63 E Performance as well). When the electric motor grabs its taller gear, the spike in acceleration feels like a turbo overboost function or a wee shot o' nitrous. Good fun, in other words.
Mercedes says that it developed the E Performance's battery in collaboration with High Performance Powertrains, the British Formula 1 engine manufacturer, so it's unsurprising that the battery's output characteristics are tailored for racetracks rather than long commutes. For example, the battery can sate the 201-hp appetite of the motor for only 10 seconds, at which point output drops to a continuous 94 horsepower. (If that sounds like a problem, we'd encourage you to report back after you find a place where you can go wide open in a GT63 S for more than 10 seconds.) The battery enjoys an elaborate cooling system, with roughly four gallons of coolant routed to individually cool all 1200 cells and maintain a temperature of 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Rapid discharging and recharging is the name of the game—in Sport, Sport+, or Race mode, the V-8 will charge the battery as you drive, and regenerative braking can send more than 100 kilowatts to the battery. The slowest way to charge the battery? By plugging it in. But if you find an EV-only garage spot and want to take advantage, the GT63's onboard charger is good for 3.7 kilowatts.
Given the complication of the powertrain—two sources of propulsion, two transmissions—it's amazing how harmoniously everything cooperates. There is no slack, no lurching confusion anywhere in the system. Check the E Performance's ridiculous top-gear 30-to-50-mph passing time: 1.9 seconds, which might be less time than it takes to say, "Uusikaupunki," the town in Finland where the GT63 is built. That sprint knocks 0.9 second off the nonhybrid GT63 S's time and matches the time posted by the Ferrari 296GTB. But conversely, in Comfort mode, the E Performance can settle down, mute its active exhaust, and slur its shifts like a decent member of society, if you're in the mood for that sort of thing.
If you do find yourself on a track, the GT63 offers endless ways to tailor the car to your liking. Care to destroy some tires? There's a Drift mode that disconnects the front axle, and yes, you can combine it with launch control if you're looking to lay stripes into the next county. The AMG Dynamics settings influence the stability-control system, the all-wheel-drive system, and the electronically controlled limited-slip rear differential, and it's telling that the Pro setting isn't even the most aggressive. Beyond it is Master, which is paired with the Race drive mode and sets the rear-axle steering for maximum response on turn-in and delivers slightly oversteer-biased handling. To activate Master mode, you need to turn off stability control using the button on the center console, sort of like the two-key system for arming a nuke. If you do this on a road course, you can also enable the Track Pace function to log lap times and keep yourself informed on how a given lap is going—if your time's in red, you're off your target pace, and if it's in green you're ahead. But hey, no pressure.
Besides adhering to the original AMG tuner performance credo, the GT63 S E Performance evokes the Hammer's sleeper aesthetic too—it's understated, especially for a car capable of hitting 100 mph in 5.9 seconds. But part of that understatement stems from the fact that this generation of four-door Mercedes-AMG GT is now six years old and a semi-familiar sight in the enclaves where such cars are found. In addition, the AMG GT four-door lineup spans a wide breadth of financial territory, and the E Performance hero model looks a lot like a GT43 that has 362 horsepower and costs about half as much. Our test car wore a base price of $196,050, and a pile of options brought that total to $216,410. The mechanically similar example we used for photography cost even more, thanks in part to its $6500 Manufaktur Signature Sunburst Yellow paint. Yet that flamboyant hue goes a long way toward advertising the GT63's exotic performance capabilities. Of course, you could just get it in black, avoid the $2850 AMG Aerodynamics package with its bold fixed rear wing, and let the neighbors think you've just got a nice luxury hybrid.
Which this is. But it's also a poster car for the hybrid hot rod, with the electrified GT63 S crushing its nonhybrid counterpart's drag-strip performance without compromising its handling dynamics. Fuel economy even improves, albeit slightly, from an EPA-rated 17 mpg combined to 18 mpg. And if official EV range is only a mile, well, that's a mile more than it used to have.
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