AMG hyper-SUV driven: 1153bhp Cayenne chaser breaks the rules of physics

With 1153bhp and three electric motors, Mercedes-AMG’s first independently developed SUV has the straight line performance of a top flight supercar. But can it deliver the driving experience to match?There’s a point when driving the new Mercedes-AMG GT 63 SUV when you begin to wonder whether its engineers have been having a good laugh during its development. It comes towards the end of our short preview drive at parent company Mercedes-Benz’s Immendingen proving ground in Germany, where the road we’re on is meant to replicate the characteristic cambers and undulations of a typical German country road. The surface is terrifically smooth, we’re carrying a decent amount of speed and the steering is loaded up as we head into a long right-hander. The forces build, but the 2695kg SUV seems almost indifferent. There’s very little roll - the body stays resolutely flat with barely any perceptible weight transfer as the corner tightens and an appetite for lateral forces completely at odds with its size and weight. This is a five-seat SUV with a raised seating position and up to 607 litres of nominal luggage space measuring 5084mm in length. Not a low-slung compact sports saloon. It’s AMG’s first independently developed SUV and the second model to use its dedicated AMG.EA electric platform after the GT 4-Door Coupe, with which it shares its 800-volt electrical architecture, axial-flux motors, oil-cooled cylindrical battery cells and much more. In the top-of-the-range GT 63 SUV we’re in, three electric axial-flux motors deliver 1153bhp and 1475lb ft of torque for 63-second bursts. That exceeds the Lamborghini Urus SE, whose twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 and electric motor produce a combined 789bhp and 701lb ft, by 364bhp and 774lb ft. The Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric is the closer fight: 1140bhp and 1106lb ft on launch control overboost, so the new electric AMG model trumps that of its Stuttgart neighbour on power by 13bhp while leading on torque by 369lb ft. Not that the GT 63 SUV ever feels short of any given reserve. Acceleration is ferocious, the response instantaneous and the thrust relentless. AMG claims 0-62mph in 2.7sec, and 124mph in 7.2sec, with an electronically limited top speed of 168mph when the optional AMG Driver’s Package is specified.More striking is how rapidly it continues gathering speed beyond the initial burst. Yet it’s the cornering that leaves the stronger impression during our first brief acquaintance. The steering is direct, accurately weighted and, by performsnce SUV standards, exceptionally responsive, with rear-wheel steering helping disguise the length through more challenging sections. Two independently controlled rear motors distribute torque between each of the rear wheels, encouraging the GT 63 to rotate into corners. There’s genuine eagerness to change direction. The suspension is arguably the greater achievement. AMG Active Ride Control+ combines air springs with hydraulically interconnected dampers to counter roll and pitch. Through successive bends, the body remains exceptionally level without feeling excessively stiff. The routes taken in Immendingen undoubtedly flatter it. Whether the same control comes with comparable comfort over broken tarmac out on the open road remains to be seen. Then there’s AMG Race Engineer, which takes driver adjustability to almost obsessive lengths. Three rotary controls allow individual adjustment of throttle response, handling agility and traction intervention, each offering nine individual settings. Together, they provide an enormous number of possible combinations, allowing the driver to fine-tune the GT 63 SUV’s handling to an extraordinary degree. It’s an impressively developed system, and one that genuinely adds to the experience. But is it overkill? In the lower, more overtly sporting GT 4-Door Coupé, such fine adjustments seem entirely appropriate. In a five-seat SUV, however capable, you wonder how many owners will ever venture beyond a handful of preferred settings. Earlier, we’d explored Drift Mode on a giant skidpan. With stability control disengaged on a dampened surface, the GT 63 SUV willingly breaks traction and turns donuts at will. Entertaining, certainly, although hardly an essential SUV attribute. AMGForce, a synthetic sound system developed using over 1600 sound bites from the earlier twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8-powered GT R Coupe, by contrast, proves surprisingly useful. The thundering soundtrack, simulated gear changes and seat vibrations unleashed when you turn the rotary controller to Sport+ provide a sensory reference point often missing from powerful electric cars. As the sound of the V8 petrol engine, played over a series of speakers, rises and falls, it helps convey acceleration, deceleration and the demands being placed on the new model when driven swiftly. The simulated shifts lend rhythm to what would otherwise be one hugely elastic, uninterrupted surge. Artificial, certainly, but genuinely effective. Battery choices are 106kWh and 128kWh, with up to 435 miles of claimed range from the larger pack and charging at up to 710kW, topping the claimed 600kW of the GT 4-Door Coupe in the process. The 128kWh battery is claimed to be able to add 280 miles of range within ten minutes under optimal conditions. Our brief drive leaves questions about everyday comfort, braking behaviour and public road handling unanswered. However, the GT 63 SUV’s ability to combine such enormous performance with such a degree of agility is deeply impressive. And those Mercedes-AMG engineers? They’ve taken a car that, by all conventional standards, ought to be compromised by its sheer size, height and weight, and made it behave in ways that seem to defy all three. I not only suspect they’ve been having a good laugh, but that somewhere along the way they decided the laws of physics were less a set of rules than a challenge to be taken personally. The astonishing thing is just how close they’ve come to winning the argument. And they’re not finished yet. A sleeker coupe version of the GT SUV is also in the works, with a planned unveiling expected by mid next year. Orders for the GT 53 SUV, which uses two synchronous electric motors developing 544bhp and 590lb ft in place of the axial flux units of the GT 63 SUV, opened in the UK last month at a price of £113,775. The more powerful GT 55 SUV and GT 63 SUV variants are not expected to arrive until here until April 2027, with pricing of around £135,000 and £165,000 respectively. Mercedes-AMG GT 63 SUV A towering achievement of engineering that disguises its mass with astonishing agility. Whether it makes sense as an SUV is another question entirely. Drivetrain Three axial-flux electric motors, 800V architecture Power 1,153 bhp; 711 bhp continuous Torque 1,475 lb ft Gearbox Single-speed, 4WD 0–62 mph 2.7 sec Top Speed 168 mph (Driver’s Package) Battery 106 kWh or 128 kWh usable Range 364 miles (106 kWh) / 435 miles (128 kWh) WLTP Peak Charging 600 kW (106 kWh) / 710 kW (128 kWh); 10–80% in 12 minutes Kerb Weight 2,585–2,695 kg Boot Space 607 litres (1,740 litres folded); 78-litre frunk Rivals BMW XM, Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric, Lamborghini Urus

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AMG hyper-SUV driven: 1153bhp Cayenne chaser breaks the rules of physics

The new GT 63 SUV is Mercedes-AMG's most powerful road car yet, but can it hide its 2.7-tonne weight?

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AMG hyper-SUV driven: 1153bhp Cayenne chaser breaks the rules of physics

The new GT 63 SUV is Mercedes-AMG's most powerful road car yet, but can it hide its 2.7-tonne weight?

More from Autocar

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Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

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