Mercedes-AMG has launched the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, its first AMG powered exclusively by batteries. Ars Technica reviewer drove the car on the road and on a track after the Los Angeles launch, and wrote that it handles well on both.
The review says Mercedes uses three axial flux electric motors built by Yasa, a company Mercedes bought in 2021. The AMG GT 63 is rated at a nominal 711 hp and a peak of 1,153 hp in Boost mode, which the review says lasts 63 seconds. The AMG GT 55 is rated at a nominal 557 hp and a peak of 805 hp, with Boost lasting 55 seconds. The reviewer reports that zero to 60 mph takes about 2.3 seconds and zero to 124 mph takes about 6.8 seconds. The car uses a 106 kWh battery pack and an 800 V system. The review says it can DC fast charge at up to 600 kW, and that one track demonstration car reached a peak of 637 kW. The reviewer says the car went from 17 to 80 percent charge in about 10 minutes. Mercedes has not shared range targets.
According to the review, the braking system combines regenerative braking with hydraulic brake-by-wire friction brakes, using carbon ceramic discs at the front and steel discs at the rear. The reviewer says the brakes stopped the car well after a late application into a tight corner.
The reviewer also described the AMG race engineer control system, which uses three dials for Response, Agility, and Traction. On the track, the reviewer said a setting of seven loosened the rear end enough to break traction easily.
The car includes a synthesized V8 sound. The reviewer wrote that the sound plays through the speakers and activates actuators in the seats, and that it grows louder in Boost mode. Mercedes described the cooling oil in the battery pack as a "secret" and declined to name its chemistry.