For something with well over 1000bhp, there’s no obvious drama to it at first.
With its stability control system in Sport, the new Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé prototype goes about its business with calm, measured composure. Exactly what you would expect of a large, fast, electric saloon at moderate pace. There’s a deliberate margin of safety in the handling balance, the front end delivering strong grip while the electronics keep everything neat and controlled. It feels fluid and encouragingly agile, the steering cleanly weighted and precise, building confidence quickly.
Out on the tight, technical inner handling circuit at the ATP testing site in Papenburg, that composure proves to be only part of the story.
Back in 2022, AMG first signalled its intention to reinvent its bespoke four-door with an EV successor through a full-sized design study. Since then, the GT XX engineering mule has demonstrated not only the drivetrain’s performance but its ability to sustain it too, covering 24,901 miles in just over seven days at an average of more than 186mph. Now I’m behind the wheel of a pre-production prototype for the first time, ahead of the car’s unveiling in Los Angeles on 20 May.
The GT XX made up to 1341bhp, but the initial production version, we’re told, will offer slightly less. Still more than 1000bhp, though.
Lean on it more assertively in Sport+ mode and its character starts to change. Not so much in a straight line, where it’s unquestionably quick, gathering speed in one long, uninterrupted surge, but in the way it responds. It feels less dictated by mass than by how precisely its systems manage the clearly substantial performance.
Select Race, ease back the stability systems and work through AMG’s Race Engineer function via three rotary dials on the centre tunnel and the transformation is immediate. Throttle response sharpens, the rear axle becomes more active and the initial layer of restraint falls away. There are nine settings for response, agility and traction. The effect is less about outright capability than delivery. As well as presenting a fixed set of handling characteristics across individual drive modes, the car lets you fine-tune its dynamic character through an additional 729 combinations.
A low centre of gravity and well-judged suspension give it impressive body control. Turn in expecting roll and it stays flat, settling quickly into a composed stance with a precision that belies its size.
The underlying character makes more sense once you understand what this car is. The Mk2 (C590) GT 4-Door Coupé marks a new start for AMG. It isn’t the firm’s first EV, but it is the first based on the AMG.EA, a platform developed from scratch specifically for performance.