The AMG GT Four Door will be tasked with taking on the Porsche Taycan and Lucid Air
Performance saloon will be the first AMG model to sit atop the company’s dedicated AMG.EA platform
Mercedes-AMG is poised to begin advanced development of its first bespoke electric sports car, which will arrive in 2025 with innovative, UK-developed drivetrain technology that is likely to make it the firm’s most powerful road car yet.
Serving as an electric alternative to the snarling, V8- engined GT 63 4-Door Coupé, AMG’s first bespoke electric car will be tasked with taking on highly acclaimed and big-selling EV sports saloons such as the Porsche Taycan, Audi E-tron GT and Lucid Air.
AMG has already turned its hand to the Mercedes EQE and EQS duo to create warmed-up, 53-badged sports saloons with huge power outputs, but this new model will be designed from the ground up as a performance car.
As such, it is expected to place as much emphasis on dynamic performance and engagement as it does straight-line speed.
It will be the first car to use a bespoke performance-oriented EV architecture known as AMG.EA. This is understood to have been designed and engineered with an eye on facilitating the low-slung, sleek silhouettes that currently define AMG’s combustion sports cars.
Central to establishing this platform as a dedicated sports car architecture will be the deployment of highly advanced electric motor technology from British firm Yasa, acquired by Mercedes in 2021.
The Oxfordshire outfit’s disc-shaped axial-flux units, to be built at scale by Mercedes in Berlin, Germany, tout much higher power- and torque-density figures than conventional, sausage-shaped radial-flux motors.
As a result, they can weigh less, take up much less space and operate more efficiently. AMG has yet to give any indication of the precise implications of this technology for its upcoming production cars, but Yasa boss Tim Woolmer confirmed to Autocar that a motor bound for one of the German firm’s production cars weighs just 24kg yet produces 590lb ft of torque and 480bhp of power in its own right.
If used in tandem as part of a twin-motor system, it seems likely that the axial devices will result in a dramatic power boost over even the 751bhp AMG EQS 53 4Matic, potentially edging towards the 1000bhp and 1000lb ft marks.
For reference, AMG competitors BMW M and Audi have access to EV platforms capable of handling upwards of 1300bhp for their own next generation of sports EVs but they have yet to give specific details of their own direct rivals to AMG’s new super-saloon: the next-generation M3 and the RS6 E-tron.
Notably, a recent concept from Mercedes – the retro, wedge-shaped One-Eleven – houses both of its electric motors on the rear axle, suggesting four-wheel drive is not a given for AMG’s next-generation sports cars.
At its unveiling, bosses highlighted the packaging benefits of both twin motors featuring at the rear: the front end is able to be brought as close as possible to the ground for optimal aerodynamic efficiency, but the motors’ compact footprint means there is still room for a sizeable rear luggage area.
This suggests that any new electric saloon using such an arrangement can, in theory, tout the same practicality credentials as its V8-engined predecessor, making it a bona fide super-tourer. Prototypes for the electric GT 63 replacement are expected to start hitting the road in the coming months as the EV gears up for a market launch in 2025.
Our best look so far comes courtesy of the rakish, motorsport-themed Vision 2025 concept that AMG revealed last year, which is understood to be a close preview of the model’s shape, size and positioning.
Measuring 5100mm long and with a wheelbase of 3000mm, the concept is well placed to succeed the similarly sized GT 63.
Its proportions hint at a focus on interior space while maintaining handling and aerodynamic performance – with its wheels pushed into the corners and its silhouette defined by various wind cheating elements, including active aero components.
Mercedes exterior design boss Robert Lesnik said the Vision 2025 takes “full advantage of the new [AMG.EA] platform in both the design and the proportions”. He added that the plan for the production version is to create “a low and sleek saloon with outstanding aerodynamics and the space to accommodate four adults in comfort”.
Central to this pledge will be a new type of slimline, energy-dense battery design bespoke to AMG EVs. Mercedes-Benz has confirmed it will use a new silicon anode material from US firm Sila.
This is said to offer a 40% improvement in energy density over existing graphite anodes and thus substantially boost range – with the added benefit of freeing up room in the interior.
New-era AMG cars will follow the lead of their Benz-badged counterparts in adopting a bold cabin design centred on a full-width high-definition screen, as alluded to by the Concept One-Eleven. The 2025 saloon is described as a four-seater, but no doubt larger successors will make space for a third seat in the rear.
Q&A: Robert Lesnik, head of Mercedes-Benz exterior design
What were the design priorities for AMG’s first EV?
“We wanted a low car with a great stance and good practicality with four doors. The AMG.EA platform allows this. We did a lot of proportional models to get the shape right. The surfacing is super smooth – there are no redundant feature lines at all. You’ll notice elements from the Vision EQXX. Aerodynamics on a car like this is very important, both the reduction of drag and downforce. Active aerodynamics will feature on the production car. We have a lot of different ideas.”
How have you re-interpreted traditional AMG design elements?
“We’ve illuminated the grille to give it added prominence. With an electric car you don’t need a functioning grille for air management, but we wanted to give the concept a familiar face. It sits lower than on any other AMG model. We also reworked the headlamps with a new star design. We want it to be a new signature element. As on the Project One, the Mercedes-Benz logo is stencilled into the bonnet.”
What’s next for Mercedes-AMG’s EVs?
“The AMG.EA platform provides a lot of scope design-wise. We’re able to go much lower than with the EVA platform. I can’t give too much away but we don’t develop new platforms for just one model. The Vision AMG is a start. It is safe to say there will be other AMG-specific electric models in the future.”
