Mercedes-AMG GT63 SE Performance

Adding an e-motor to the already ballistic GT63 S has created a luxury behemoth with rocketship acceleration

- JETHRO BOVINGDON

MORE. LOTS MORE. OF EVERYTHING. Power, torque, gearboxes, driving modes. This is the Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance 4-Door Coupé. More badges, too. It's at once a technological marvel, a thumping super-saloon, a mind-bendingly fast rocketship, and a wildly expensive extravagance. It is - and I think we can say this officially - too big, too heavy, too fast, too expensive, and too complex. The headlines are 831bhp, 1084lb ft, 2305kg, and £178,704. Aside from the AMG One - remember that? - it's the most powerful AMG product ever made. Do we care? Well, why not? We are well beyond the realms of sanity with these sorts of cars, so why not embrace the madness and submit to the ridiculousness of it all? 

Besides, it's hard not to marvel at the sheer force of will AMG has employed to create this monstrous saloon car. (They call it a coupe but that's one madness I can't support.) I have no idea about the 'why' but the 'how' is something to behold. In simple terms, this is a GT63 S updated and augmented for even greater performance. It retains the fabulous 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, producing 630bhp and 664lb ft, but supplements it with an electric motor that forms part of a kind of super-transaxle, comprising motor, two-speed gearbox, and e-differential. This layout allows a 50:50 weight distribution, which is better than the slightly front-heavy pure-ICE GT63 S.