Mercedes-AMG has revealed a new range champion for its electric GT 4-Door family, with the less powerful GT 53 capable of travelling up to 809km – 112km further than the 860kW flagship GT 63.
Called the Mercedes-AMG GT 53 4-Door Coupé, the new entry model produces 400kW and 800Nm from its dual electric motors and will go on sale in Germany this month priced from €115,430 ($206,000).
There is no word yet on whether the GT 53 – or any version of the new electric GT 4-Door range – will be sold in Australia.
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The GT 53 joins the far more powerful GT 55 and flagship GT 63 unveiled earlier this year, which produce 600kW and 860kW respectively. The GT 63 can blast from 0-100km/h in just 2.4 seconds and hit 300km/h.
The GT 53 takes a somewhat different approach, trading outright performance for efficiency and driving range.
Its 400kW/800Nm dual-motor powertrain drives all four wheels through AMG Performance 4MATIC+ and launches the big four-door from 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.9 seconds.
Mercedes-AMG also quotes a 3.5-second time using the US-style one-foot rollout measurement.
Top speed is electronically limited to 230km/h as standard, rising to 250km/h with the optional AMG Driver’s Package.
Unlike the higher-output GT 55 and GT 63, which employ AMG’s new compact axial-flux electric motors, the GT 53 uses two permanently excited synchronous motors.
The rear motor drives through a two-speed transmission, with a short 11:1 first gear designed for acceleration and urban efficiency and a taller 5:1 second ratio for high-speed performance, motorway efficiency and range.
The front motor effectively operates as a boost unit, engaging when additional performance or traction is required and disconnecting under light loads to reduce energy consumption.
But the GT 53 retains one of the headline technologies of its substantially more powerful siblings: an 800-volt electrical architecture and a 106kWh usable battery.
Its 2660 cylindrical cells are directly cooled by electrically non-conductive oil, while the battery chemistry uses an NCMA cathode and silicon-containing anode and is claimed to achieve an energy density exceeding 298Wh/kg.
Mercedes-AMG claims a WLTP range of between 682km and 809km, compared with up to 697km for the more powerful versions revealed earlier this year.
Maximum DC charging power is a huge 600kW, although finding a public charger capable of delivering that rate is another matter.
AMG claims the GT 53 can add 70kWh of energy and 534km of WLTP range in 10 minutes under ideal conditions, while a 10-80 per cent recharge is quoted at 11 minutes. AC charging is limited to 11kW.
While the GT 53 is the entry point to the electric GT range, it is still a sizeable and heavy machine.
It measures 5094mm long, 1959mm wide and just 1411mm high, sits on a 3040mm wheelbase and weighs 2375kg DIN.
Aerodynamic efficiency is aided by a low 0.21Cd drag coefficient and active aero that includes a standard deployable rear spoiler and optional active rear diffuser.
Air suspension and adaptive dampers are standard, while the independently controlled front and rear electric motors allow fully variable torque distribution through the 4MATIC+ all-wheel-drive system.
And despite abandoning internal combustion, AMG has made a determined effort to ensure the GT 53 doesn’t sound or feel entirely like an EV.
Its AMGFORCE Sport+ mode introduces simulated gearshifts, including deliberate interruptions to acceleration, along with paddle-operated virtual manual shifts.
More unusually, AMG has digitally recreated the sound of the 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine previously used in the AMG E 53 Coupé.
Engineers recorded the combustion engine using 16 microphones and more than 100 measurements before reproducing its sound inside and outside the GT 53. Drivers can adjust the artificial soundtrack from “Minimal” to “Powerful” and between “Classic” and “Futuristic”.
Inside, there’s a 14-inch central touchscreen angled towards the driver, with a separate passenger display available as an option. There’s also a switchable panoramic glass roof, individual rear seats, a 415-litre VDA boot and 41-litre VDA frunk.
