The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe has received a range of mild tweaks before it gains its first plug-in hybrid.
It’s been revealed in six-cylinder GT53 form, a variant dropped from the local line-up in 2020.
A spokesperson from Mercedes-Benz Australia said there’s nothing new to announce regarding additional or returning variants for our market.
We currently receive only the GT63 S, and an updated version of this has yet to be revealed.
Updates to the GT53 and its less powerful GT43 sibling are limited largely to the suspension, interior and trim and colour selections.
The cars’ turbocharged 3.0-litre inline-six cylinder engines are unchanged, with the GT43 pumping out 270kW of power and 500Nm of torque and the GT53 bumping outputs up to 320kW and 520Nm.
Under the skin, the AMG Ride Control+ air suspension has a new damping system with two continuously variable, pressure-limiting valves.
One valve controls the rebound damping, the other the compression damping and each works independently.
In short, Mercedes-AMG claims this can both increase comfort and make the GT’s dynamics even sportier, allowing for a greater difference across drive modes.
These changes are in addition to updates made in 2020, which included new axle subframes and bushings.
Both six-cylinder models can be optioned with the front-end appearance of the V8-powered GT63, while there’s also an AMG Night Package II with dark chrome slats for the grille plus black badging at the rear.
The Night Package and Carbon Fibre Package can also now be combined.
There are three new exterior colours – spectral blue in both metallic and matte, plus a matte cashmere white – which brings to the total number of paint finishes to five matte, five metallic and two solid.
20- and 21-inch alloy wheels are available.
Inside, there’s a new AMG Performance steering wheel with a flattened bottom, touch-capacitive buttons with haptic feedback and round AMG button displays.
It can be finished in either Nappa leather, or the same material but with Dinamica microfibre accents. Heating is also optional.
The steering wheel includes a sensor mat and if it detects you’re driving with your hands off the wheel, it’ll start a ‘cascade’ of warnings. It’ll eventually apply the brakes if the driver remains inactive.
The GT 4-Door Coupe is also available in a pair of two-tone interior colourways: titanium grey pearl/black Nappa leather with yellow stitching details, and truffle brown/black Nappa leather.
Other interior colour options include Nappa leather in classic red, sienna brown, yacht blue, deep white and neva grey, while anthracite open-pore wood trim is a new trim option.
A new Edition model will be available across the GT 4-Door Coupe range in Europe and comes as standard with the GT63’s exterior styling.
It’s painted in rubellite red and features high-gloss chrome accents and 21-inch forged wheels.
Inside, there’s new neva grey Exclusive nappa leather upholstery, plus grey ash open-pore wood trim and door sill panels illuminated in red.
The range will soon expand to include the GT73e 4-Door Coupe plug-in hybrid.
It’ll pair an electric motor with a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine, which will reportedly feature system outputs of 600kW of power and 1001Nm of torque.
Mercedes-AMG is applying the E Performance name to its new plug-in hybrid powertrains, and the next-generation C63 will be a recipient.
In E Performance cars, the electric motor is positioned on the rear axle and is integrated with an electrically-shifted two-speed transmission and the electronic rear axle differential lock.
The lightweight battery is also located above the rear axle.
Instead of sending power through the nine-speed automatic transmission, the electric motor acts directly on the rear axle. The differential lock can in turn allocate the optimum torque to each rear wheel.
If slip on the rear axle increases, power from the electric motor can be transferred to the front wheels for a short time to increase traction.
