2021 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Test Drive Overview

We don’t usually review these kinds of cars, so perhaps we’re easily impressed. Or amused. Either way, every drive in the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe is gratifying in ways both small and large.

On the practical side of the ledger, we discovered that this Benz doesn’t scrape its nose on everything like a recently-tested BMW M850i Gran Coupe did. On the emotional side of the ledger, the AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe might just be the best damn car we’ve ever driven.

As a point of clarification, the car does not share a platform with the AMG GT Coupe and Roadster. Like the CLS, the GT 4-Door Coupe is based on the same foundation as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan but is kicked up several notches. The slowest version, the AMG GT 43, accelerates to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. The fastest version, the AMG GT 63 S, holds the lap-time record for luxury cars on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Developed entirely by Mercedes-AMG, the GT 4-Door Coupe’s spec sheet is a laundry list of performance upgrades that touch every mechanical component, and the company continually modifies and refines the underpinnings to ensure superior acceleration, braking, ride, and handling qualities.

Our GT 63 S had a hand-built twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine cranking out 630 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, enough to deliver a claimed 3.1-second run to 60 mph. A nine-speed multi-clutch automatic transmission transmits the twin-turbo V8's power to a performance-tuned 4Matic all-wheel-drive (AWD) system with an electronic limited-slip rear differential. All versions of the 4-Door Coupe are AWD, while the two-door Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe and Roadster are available with rear-wheel drive (RWD).

Multiple driving modes are available, including Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Race, each producing a more explosive and almost violent response to the driver’s inputs and the road surface. Alternatively, you can mix-and-match drivetrain settings, depending on your preferences. A Race Start feature serves as launch control, a Drift mode allows you to endanger your six-figure sheet metal, and the car includes a three-stage traction and stability control system.

Additional hardware includes brake-induced Dynamic Cornering Assist, active rear-wheel steering, a performance-tuned air suspension, a performance exhaust system, and high-performance composite brakes. As an option, ceramic composite brakes produce an instantaneous response and stopping power.

Obviously, the GT 63 S is overbuilt for public roads. To explore the car’s maximum performance potential, you need a closed course and heroic driving talent. But this doesn’t detract from its thrilling dynamism in the real world, whether you’re rounding a perfectly banked on-ramp and rocketing onto a freeway or tackling an off-camber, decreasing radius hairpin curve on a road you know better than the lines on your face.

Where you’ll get into trouble in this audaciously capable automobile is blending velocity with the unknown. As is true in any car, this is a recipe for disaster. The difference with something like the GT 63 S is that it masks speed to such an extent that you might be unaware of how fast you’re actually going. Until the unexpected happens, of course.

Case in point, we encountered significant rockfall on Malibu’s Encinal Canyon Road at the same time oncoming traffic was approaching in the oncoming lane. Fortunately, our speed was within reason and the ceramic composite brakes brought the GT 63 S to an immediate stop. After the oncoming vehicle passed, we picked our way around the jagged shards of terrain and continued our journey into the mountains.

Perhaps what’s more instructive than smothering the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe with dynamic superlatives is to share its demeanor during the daily drive. Place the car in Comfort mode, quiet the otherwise raucous exhaust, and it adopts a remarkably suave and sophisticated character. Outward visibility is decent, too, and the GT 63 S won’t beat you up over imperfect pavement. The fact that it doesn’t scrape its front end on driveway aprons, drainage dips, or speed humps makes it even easier to use every day, and for every purpose.

As much as we loved driving the GT 63 S, unless you absolutely must exercise bragging rights at the country club or cigar bar, or it's really important to you to accelerate to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, or you intend to track the car to use its hardware and software in the manner AMG intends, the GT 43 or GT 53 are more sensible selections. And as we’ll see in the next section, that sensibility extends beyond price and performance.