With Mercedes-Benz going all-in on electrification, it was a little curious when the all-new Mercedes-AMG GT was launched only with pure-combustion powertrain options. Well, what do you know – the company has, of course, been planning for a plug-in hybrid Mercedes-AMG GT E Performance variant all along, and they’ve now put the concept model on display at the ongoing IAA Mobility 2023 Munich auto show.
It’s still officially a concept for now, but the show car pretty much already looks production-ready, as not much has really changed in terms of its design, save for the red accents on the wheels, a charging port on the rear bumper, and tinted headlights – but don’t expect the latter to make it into production.
The headline here is, of course, its new hybrid powertrain, which Mercedes-Benz says will consist of the existing 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, alongside an electric motor on the rear axle and a battery. It’ll use technologies derived from its Formula 1 team, and make “more than 800 hp” combined.
It’s a similar set-up to that of the AMG GT 63 S E Performance that was launched in Malaysia earlier this year. As such, we can also probably expect a similar level of performance on the new flagship sports car – somewhere around the region of 843 hp and 1,470 Nm of torque, with even faster century sprint times considering its smaller size.
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There’s no doubt that the upcoming Mercedes-AMG GT E Performance (or whatever it’ll be called) will be immensely powerful, but raw grunt is just one part of the equation. The other is weight, and the all-new GT is already a hefty car, weighing in at some 1,970 kg before any electric bits.
We’re not sure how Mercedes-AMG intends to manage the hybrid’s weight – a stripped down interior could be one possibility, but that’s not very Mercedes, is it? Either way, we’ll only find out closer to its official launch, which we’re expecting to be sometime in 2024 – so keep your eyes peeled.
