APEX PREDATOR

Driving the new GT 63 supercar across the hills of Spain reveals Mercedes-AMG only made a great supercar better

- NICOLAS STECHER

The Maceo Plex soundtrack thrums throughout our handsomely appointed cabin as we squiggle over the mountains of Andalusia, slaloming across sun-drenched foothills in a 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63. The synthesis between the techno surging from the Burmester sound system and the GT 63's surgically delivered force utterly transforms the test drive into a Nicolas Refn flick: tense and thrilling, taut with trial.

We're behind the wheel of the second generation of the Tristar's apex predator, the AMG GT, to gauge its evolution from the sui generis model that ceased production in September 2022. The years for this successor gestating in AMG's womb in Affalterbach, Germany, are proving themselves worthwhile as we rip across Spain's southern province, blurring orchards of gnarled olive trees basking in the hot Mediterranean sun.

The most salient element with almost any AMG vehicle is, of course, the engine. In this case a bi-turbo 4.0-liter V8 terror generating 577 horsepower and a potent 590-ld-ft of torque. Although not as unhinged as the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 that preceded this V8 in the AMG bloodline, it is still a thing of feral beauty. Early in our drive the shifts felt a bit tame, that is until we dialed the mode up to Sport Plus. Instantly the car morphed; shifts from the AMG nine-speed came lightning quick, the rumble out of the tailpipes modulating into an aggressive snarl as we joyously tested out its reported boost (the official o to 60 mph click in 3.1 seconds seems about right).

With its max torque available at only 2,500 RPMs, keeping all four wheels firmly planted proves challenging as we climb dizzyingly up and down the countryside, at one point reaching 11.500 feet of altitude. A seemingly endless array of switchbacks tests the GT's AMG Performance 4MATIC+ AWD as we pass mountain towns that long ago disappeared into the haze of time, fading pueblos with names like Laroles. Picena and La Pacea.