Whenever there's news from Mercedes, it's usually about an electric car that is either announced or revealed. The three-pointed star has said it is going to be ready to offer an all-EV lineup by 2030 in markets where that's going to be feasible. However, that's not to say the German luxury brand has completely abandoned the good ol' internal combustion engine. Case in point, the new AMG GT Coupe (the real one, with two doors) will stick to V8 power.
A prototype of either the "55" or "63" version has now been caught by our spies while undergoing testing. It's certainly not the coupe version of the AMG SL 43 since the roadster has round exhaust tips. That does raise a question though: Will the GT Coupe also come in a four-pot configuration? With governments instating high taxes on large-displacement engines, we could see it happening in some countries. For the same reason, Mercedes sells the CLS in China with a 1.5-liter engine.
A four-pot GT Coupe could very well happen judging by the spy shots above, originally published a few weeks ago. The yellow car clearly had round tips, suggesting it was rocking the 2.0-liter M139 engine found in the SL as well as AMG's "45" compact cars. In the SL 43, the gasoline mill boasts an electric exhaust gas turbocharger adapted from Formula 1 and due to be used in the One hypercar and next C63 as well.
Although the prototype in the spy video is heavily camouflaged, we are getting the impression the second-gen model will look sleeker than the outgoing car. Essentially, it should be an SL with a fixed metal roof as the roadster was developed by AMG as well. Of course, the Sport Leicht has the profile of a more relaxed grand tourer whereas the GT Coupe will be more focused to do battle with the Porsche 911.
The roadster has been spied on numerous occasions testing with a plug-in hybrid setup, which might be reserved for the flagship variant. AMG has already applied the PHEV V8 formula to the GT 63 S E Performance where the electrified setup is good for 831 horsepower (620 kilowatts) and a colossal 1,400 Newton-meters (1,033 pound-feet) of torque.
For the first time ever, the SL is now available with 4Matic. Does that mean the 2023 AMG GT will also send power to both axles? We should have an answer to this burning question later this year when the speedy coupe is expected to break cover.
