Mercedes-AMG is kicking off its hybrid era with a bang.
The GT 63 S E Performance blends a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with an electric motor for 620kW of power and a staggering 1400Nm of torque.
It’ll be in Australia during the second half of 2022.
Mercedes-AMG hasn’t really designed the GT 63 to be a Prius, but it’ll still do 12km on electric power alone.
The 150kW/320Nm e-motor is on the rear axle, where it’s combined with a two-speed transmission and an electronic limited-slip differential.
First gear takes the motor from standstill to around 140km/h, at which point it’s spinning at around 13,500rpm.
The lithium-ion battery feeding it is mounted below the boot floor.
Although it’s mounted on the rear axle, the electric motor is mechanically linked to the car’s all-wheel drive system, so it can shuffle torque between the axles as required.
Along with the plug-in hybrid system, the petrol engine features a 48V mild-hybrid system.
The 100km/h sprint flies by in 2.9 seconds, the 200km/h sprint takes less than 10 seconds, and flat out you’ll be doing 316km/h.
There are plenty of challenges associated with making a hybrid go (very) fast, chief among which is cooling.
Mercedes-AMG says it uses a sophisticated liquid cooling system to keep the lithium-ion battery at 45 degrees celsius, no matter how hard you’re flogging the GT 63 on track.
Although you can almost deplete the battery pack, Mercedes-AMG says the GT 63 always maintains enough charge for the hybrid system to deliver its full punch.
You can plug into the wall or a DC fast charger to replenish the battery, use the engine, or lean on regenerative braking. There are three levels of regeneration, most aggressive of which allows for one-pedal driving.
Flick into Race and the system defaults to a mild setting for a more natural feel through the brake pedal. Mercedes-AMG says it’s used its F1 experience with hybrid power.
All the high-tech driver aids from the petrol-only AMG GT have carried over to the E-Performance model.
There’s a variable all-wheel drive system, along with traction control and stability control rolled into an all-encompassing AMG Dynamics setup.
Inside, the GT 63 S E-Performance has the same MBUX dual-screen setup as the regular car, albeit with unique graphics for the electric drive parts of its infotainment system.
It’s a similar story outside, where unique wheels and a charge port on the rear bumper are the only hints about its electrified drivetrain.
