The outgoing Mercedes-AMG GT is more sports car than GT for a number of reasons, including the spaceframe design and two-seat arrangement. For the second generation, the soft top will be dropped altogether due to the SL's existence. Mercedes will also use the SL's chassis, and – as you can tell from the cars in the video below – four seats are in the offing as well.
Another big difference over the first generation is the 63 S E Performance – or whatever it will be called – which combines a twin-turbo V8 with plug-in hybrid assistance. You can easily notice a charging port door on the rear bumper's right side, and there's also a case to be made for 831 hybridized stallions.
That's how much the 63 S E Performance makes in five-door attire. Peak torque is a simply ridiculous 1,033 pound-feet (1,400 Nm). In other words, those high-performance tires will need changing rather often. Similar to the 4-Door Coupe and SL, the GT 63 S E Performance is also getting 4MATIC+.
As opposed to regular 4MATIC, the AMG version features a rear-only mode for extra thrills in the corners. The 2024 model is pretty similar in exterior styling to both its predecessor and the SL, both up front and out back. Slightly prettier than its canvas-topped cousin, the GT will reach dealers no later than October 2023 based on a leaked internal document. That's also when the all-new CLE is expected to roll into showrooms with four- and six-cylinder engines.
The internal document in question appears to be real because a more recent EPA filing designates the CLE as a 2024 model in the United States. The 300, 450, and 53 series will be launched this year, with all three packing all-wheel drive.
Lower down the GT's hierarchy, the non-electrified 63 will feature a twin-turbo V8 that Merc refers to as M177. The primary difference between it and the M178 of the first generation is the oiling system: wet sump instead of dry sump. The dual-clutch transmission of the original is also going the way of the dodo in favor of a nine-speed automatic based on the 9G-Tronic, namely the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 9G.
Its pièce de resistance is the wet start-off clutch, which improves acceleration while also reducing weight compared to the 9G-Tronic's conventional torque converter. Similar to the SL, the GT 55 is believed to round off the eight-pot range.
Lower still, there's a case to be made for a 53 with the M256, a straight-six engine that's not assembled by hand by AMG. The regular-production engine has already been confirmed for the CLE 53. Some peeps also look forward to – get this – a four-cylinder turbo in the 43 series. The SL does offer one, namely the AMG-built M139 the C 63 S E Performance also uses. In the rear-drive SL 43, said powerplant belts out 375 horsepower and 354 pound-feet (480 Nm) at full chatter.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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