The Mercedes-AMG GT Concept is the clearest sign yet of what the company's upcoming Formula 1-inspired four door supercar will look like -- and go like.
Unveiled on Tuesday, the new car is the first celebratory concept planned over the course of 2017 to mark AMG's 50th anniversary. But as well as marking a birthday, the car should be seen as marking the birth of a third distinct AMG-infused model line.
"With the Mercedes-AMG GT Concept we are giving a preview of our third completely autonomously developed sports car. And extending the attractive AMG GT family to include a four-door variant," said Mercedes-AMG chairman, Tobias Moers.
The car which demonstrates Mercedes's new overarching design language that will soon be used to refresh all of its existing model lines, is pitched as a super sports car on the track or Autobahn and a super-practical luxury four-door fastback (i.e., a large car with tapering coupé proportions) the rest of the time. So much so that it has very generous truck proportions that can be increased by moving the rear seats.
However, it also has foldaway mini cameras that take the place of traditional wing mirrors and hiding behind the very bold front grille is the same type of active aerodynamics and cooling system found on the current Mercedes-AMG GT sportscar.
"The GT Concept embodies the most extreme expression of our design idiom and underlines anew the autonomous profile of AMG as a performance brand," said Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer Daimler AG. "Through perfect proportions it creates a puristic design with the emphasis on its surfaces, featuring sensuous shapes and is hot and cool at the same time."
The overall visual impression is of a replacement for the current generation CLS, the luxury GT that ushered in the current trend for four-door cars that look like sports coupés. Thanks to its popularity we now have the BMW 6-Series Grand Coupé, the Audi A7 and the Volkswagen Arteon Gran Turismo.
But what this car offers that its competitors can't, at least in its concept form, is a hybrid powertrain developed by the Mercedes Petronas AMG Formula 1 team that sees a twin-turbo V8 mated to a second battery-powered electric motor. "[It] illustrates how we are defining performance of the future at AMG," said Moers. "This performance hybrid powertrain offers an impressive electric range and the opportunity to generate a system output of up to 600 kW (800hp) in its last level of development. It covers the sprint from 0-100 in less than three seconds -- which corresponds to a super sports car level."
