As if a 630bhp V8 weren’t enough, AMG has added a 201bhp electric motor as well
MATT PRIOR @matty_prior
TESTED 9.3.23, HERTFORDSHIRE ON SALE APRIL
’ve just spent a couple of hours in central London, during which my expensive Mercedes spotto count read: G-Classes seven, AMG GT 4-Door Coupés none.
Only anecdotal evidence, I know. But there are only ever a few used GT 4-Doors in the classifieds, too, and tell me, reader, have you ever seen one? I can’t shake the feeling that AMG’s bespoke coupé-saloon (technically a five-door hatchback), introduced in 2018, is a very rare groove, a niche option. But if you prefer to roll around in a G-Class, well, I think you’re missing out.
So far we’ve had the 63 S variant in the UK, plus the less powerful 63, now dropped but continuing abroad. Brits like high-spec cars, so we settled on the one with a 630bhp 4.0-litre V8 and a price of £153,755.
That’s now joined by this £177,715 variant, the 63 S E Performance, which keeps the V8 in the same tune and gains another 201bhp from an electric motor mounted at the back axle for a combined 831bhp. That makes it the second-most-powerful AMG behind the One – which is no less than a rebodied Formula 1 car.
I would say 831bhp in a big coupé-hatchback thing ought to be plenty. The most powerful comparable Audi RS, BMW M and Porsche models don’t get that close.
The 63 S E Performance is a pluggable hybrid. On top of the motor is a 6.1kWh battery. It gives just 7.5 miles of electric-only range because, say the engineers, it’s more about performance than distance.
On that point, this car will do 0-62mph in 2.9sec (0.3sec faster than the 63 S) and go on to 196mph (the same), while the combined economy test, often ultra-generous to PHEVs, rates it at just 35.8mpg.
From a practicality standpoint (I know you’re worried about it), the electric gubbins at the rear, including a two-speed gearbox for the electric motor, eats into the boot floor, reducing luggage capacity from 461 to 335 litres. Maybe that’s why everyone buys a G-Class instead. But probably not.
Kerb weight understandably takes a big hike from 2205kg to 2494kg, so the PHEV gets carbon-ceramic brakes denied to the 63 S.
Inside, this being a variant of a car that arrived in the last decade, you won’t find Mercedes’ very latest infotainment system, which means it retains a trackpad on the centre console and has a transmission tunnel busy with buttons for driving functions. That said, the steering wheel is updated to the latest split-spoke kind, including rotary drive mode selectors. The inclusion of an ‘elect
