HOTHEAD21 Mercedes-AMG GT63s 2020

MB label seems to be applied to just about everything Mercedes these days, the Mercedes-AMG brand itself stands apart, with unique vehicles that are not based any other Mercedes-Benz products. To this point, they’ve focused those efforts on two-door performance cars; but that all changes with this car, the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door coupe.

This really is a brave new world. Performance SUVs are all the rage in the luxury realm, while Mercedes “tuner” AMG now makes their own distinct vehicles. And it’s into this world that we see something else new emerge, the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe. A car that bucks all the trends, packing supercar performance into a 4-door car body.

Getting right to the good stuff; like any high performance machine these days, everything from chassis-tuning to power delivery is computer-controlled and highly configurable. In addition to the usual AMG DYNAMICS terms of Sport+ and Race, there are also Pro and Master, but alas, no ProMaster…sorry!

So, rather than spending all day figuring out an optimal setup, we just hopped in, fired it up, dialed everything to the max, and headed for turn-1 at Savannah’s Roebling Road Raceway.

And before reaching the end of that turn, we noted that despite this 4-Door Coupe being a physically big car, it sure didn’t feel like it from where we were sitting.

It’s very easy to place on track, turns in quickly, holds its line well, and allows you to feed in healthy amounts of power coming out of corners without getting out of shape. With all-wheel-drive grip, you really have to work hard to get it to oversteer, though there is a “drift mode” to aid in such hijinks.

The steering wheel has decent weight to it, and sets all 4-wheels into the action; but that does rob some of the feel we’d like.

Carbon-ceramic brakes are optional, noted by bronze 6-piston front calipers; and they are plenty track-worthy, consistently slowing us without complaint from 160+ at the end of Roebling’s long front straight.

There are actually three versions of AMG’s first 4-door; the GT 53 with 429-horspower turbocharged 3.0-liter I-6, the GT 63 with 577-horsepower from its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, and this GT 63 S that cranks that V8 up to 630-horsepower and 664 lb-ft. of torque. Obviously our choice for track work.

And trust us, this V8 is not afraid of a little hard labor; picking up this car, and hurling it down the track like it has a schedule to keep. Launch Control is simple to engage and highly effective; 60 miles-per-hour arrives in just 3.0-seconds flat.

The AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 9-speed automatic delivers shifts that are as quick as they are brutal; and when we cleared the ¼ in just 11.0-seconds at 128 miles-per-hour, this car felt like it was just getting started.

There may be a boat-load of sensors collecting data on everything that you and this car get into, but there’s nothing sensitive looking about it. Even with overall smoothness to most body panels, it has a very aggressive machine-like appearance.

From the rear, the hips look almost 911ish, and it’s also way bigger in person than it looks in photos; it definitely sticks out in any crowd.

Sidebar: how awesome is this pearly matte blue paint job? Technically called Brilliant Blue Magno, it blends perfectly with the tasteful carbon-fiber trim.

Thanks to the highly-bolstered seats, and suede covered, on-center indicating steering wheel; the interior feels very racy, but with a precision luxury appearance that makes it seem like it was designed by a high–end watchmaker.

It shares more with the GT Coupe than it does any sedan over on the Benz side. Most controls have a very precise feel to them, except for the many touch sensitive buttons which are all over the cabin, including on the steering wheel. They do take a little while to get used to.

Things are surprisingly spacious in the rear seat for two; with plenty of easy access, and even decent headroom despite the sloping roofline.

And, there’s even 12.7 cubic-ft. of cargo space, with optional folding seatback flexibility.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 15-City, 20-Highway, and 17-Combined…for a less than average Energy Impact Score of 19.4-barrels of yearly oil consumption with 8.6-tons of CO2 emissions. Yes, there is a gas guzzler tax.

So, base price for this GT 63 S is a taxing $162,200. The base GT 53 comes in just over $100,000, with the GT 63 occupying the middle ground at $141,250.

While what makes a great performance sedan may be subjective; anyone who takes a turn behind the wheel of the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe will agree that it is utterly fantastic. We were probably supposed to point out some serious negatives to keep the internet trolls happy, but couldn’t find any. Sooo… maybe we should go take in a few more laps