The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT Has Up to 577 HP and an Onboard Racing Instructor
Its augmented-reality display can help you improve your racing line.
The time has come for the next generation of Mercedes' long lineage of epic tourers. Welcome the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT, which hasn't changed the things that make it great, because it still uses a hand-built turbo V8. But this time, it comes bristling with a new back seat, tons of proven performance tech, and even onboard track driving instruction.
Coming to U.S. dealers in the first half of next year, the second-gen AMG GT is made with a new body structure that employs aluminum, magnesium, steel, and composites in their optimal places. This allows Mercedes to work in more luggage or optional two-plus-two seating, something the company says it's now offering by customer demand.
Both fit around aggressively upgraded suspension. The AMG GT's multilink front and rear coil suspension use forged aluminum rigid components, and are improved with hydraulic roll control and adaptive damping. Obviously, its long nose can be had with a front-axle lift that hoists it by 1.2 inches.
That snout accommodates an improved version of AMG's 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8, this time featuring a new oil pan, relocated intercooler, and better-flowing cylinder heads and emissions equipment. It'll be offered in two states of tune across GT 55 and GT 63 models, the more-powerful latter of which makes 577 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque.
Sent through a nine-speed multi-clutch automatic, that power's distributed through a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system with an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. All together, the GT 63 is good for zero-to-60 mph in 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 196 mph—limited electronically. For the GT 55, the figures work out to 3.8 seconds and 183 mph.
The AMG GT reaches those speeds with the aid of active aero, consisting of variable front flaps and a rear spoiler. (They can pair with an optional aero package for extra downforce, too.) Its aluminum-calipered brakes are capable of torque vectoring, which pairs with standard four-wheel steering to maximize agility. For wheels, the AMG GT will ride on standard 20-inch alloys that can be upsized to 21s.
Its interior will be available in a variety of configurations, most of them with generous Nappa leather. There'll be a flat-bottomed, heated Nappa leather-wrapped steering wheel too, plus ambient lighting, and seats with ventilated back rests and an optional massage function. Their bolsters electronically adjust to various driving modes, some of which are obviously designed for track use.
There, the AMG GT can log its own telemetry, which it'll display on its 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster. An optional head-up display can show lap and sector times, and even provide virtual driving instruction that recommends braking points and certain racing lines. Driving modes are changed through capacitive touch controls—an unfortunate carryover from the last model—while the remainder of functions are tweaked through the 11.9-inch touchscreen. A range of ADAS and safety technologies will also be included, though Mercedes says the AMG GT won't feature its Level 3 hands-free driving assists.
The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT will go on sale in the first half of next year, and is anticipated to foreshadow higher-performing models. It's hard not to get excited for a hypothetical new Black Series, and imagine it going head-to-head with the likes of the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD. But that's a showdown for another day.
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