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to tailor the amount and type of electronic intervention from Basic to
Advanced and the flattering-sounding Pro and Master modes.
Each combination of settings changes the interaction between the
suspension, all-wheel-drive system, electronic rear differential (standard
on the S) and rear-wheel steering. Take the time to work through them
and the breadth of the GT 4 Door’s dynamic talents becomes clear; in
the upper echelons of its driving modes, its body control and steering
response are quite something. A two-tonne car that steers with this level
of precision, and with so little bodyroll, is hugely impressive.
The Panamera’s steering, by contrast, is less speedy in response but
similarly accurate and with more natural-feeling feedback. Subjectively,
the Alpina’s variable-ratio electromechanical steering is the least feel-
some of the three, perhaps tuned with high-speed stability in mind, but
it’s still a quick rack that requires few turns on these twisting roads.
The AMG’s three-chamber adaptive air suspension rides large bumps
smoothly (more so than the heavier Porsche) but the smallest lumps
ripple through the car, rattling the trim and fittings. I turn up Town-
shend to compensate, by nudging the volume control on the gigantic
console on top of the transmission tunnel. Like the Dynamic Select
wheel, its switches are animated with cartoon symbols that alter when
pressed; it’s not subtle.
Four fixed seats are standard; a fold-down Business console is an
option, as is a folding three-person rear bench. Despite the coupe-style
roofline, there’s headroom for a six-foot passenger behind a six-foot
driver. The GT 4 Door is about six inches taller than the two-door GT,
which makes it look awkward from some angles. It has all the coupe cues
(if your definition of coupe stretches to this many doors) but looks like
a saloon car wearing GT drag. In some ways it’s an elegant design, with
smooth, unadorned surfaces, in others it’s gauche, with false vents in its
flanks and those big grilles up front.
AMG’s 4.0-litre V8, which sites its twin turbos in the valley of its vees,
is now familiar from a host of Mercs (and Aston Martins) but this is its
most potent form yet. With no less than 663lb ft on tap from 2500rpm,
the V8’s midrange urge is intense, and the 4 Door feels every bit as fast
as its on-paper figures suggest. Not even its hefty kerbweight can blunt
the sheer relentlessness of its acceleration. The nine-speed transmission
does an admirable job of coping, and while it can occasionally feel slow
to dispatch successive downshifts, it can be forgiven considering the
amount of twist involved.
Who are you, GT 4 Door GT? Behind the wheel, I quickly cease to care
about its confounding image; I’m too busy enjoying myself. ⊲The Giant TestGiant test: AMG GT 4 Door
Interior is a visual and
tactile treat, although
mastering the menus
can take a while▼
PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING AMG GT 63S 4 DOORWhy is it here?
The new car in this
test, and the most
confusing in terms
of positioning. Part
muscle car, part
luxury saloon, part
sleek GT, it’s certainly
charismatic – even if
its mission statement
isn’t all that clear.Any clever stuff?
Plenty: all-wheel
steering, continuously
adaptive air
suspension, nine-
speed multi-clutch
transmission, andall-wheel drive with a
purely rear-driven Drift
mode (only on the S
version, which also
gets dynamic engine
mounts, reducing
vibrations from the V8and transmission, and
an electronic locking
rear diff).Which version is this?
This is the full-house
GT 63S with 630bhp
from its ‘hot-vee’
4.0-litre twin-turbo
V8 (left). Non-S GT 63
makes do with only
577bhp. Elsewhere
in Europe there are
43 and 53 entry-level
versions of the GT 4
Door available with
mild-hybrid straight-
sixes; the UK just gets
the V8-powered 63
models.