The second-generation Mercedes-AMG GT, which is currently in its final testing stages, won’t appear all that different from the outgoing model. However, the newcomer is set to lose something important (its Roadster version) and, more importantly gain an asset, namely move on to a 2+2 seating layout.
Multiple prototypes of the next-gen GT have been spotted for quite some time now and you’ll find a more recent spy clip of the sort at the bottom of the story (lens tip to Car Spy Media).
And the independent rendering resting on our screens builds on that spy material, attempting to accurately portray the machine—the 2D work comes from a digital artist known as Germany’s Finest on Instagram.
How the 2023 Mercedes-AMG reached its current Grand Tourer form
Ever since Mercedes-Benz joined forces with McLaren to create the SLR two decades ago, each carmaker has been refining its own formula. And while the Brits have focused on speed and extreme aero, the Germans have steered towards the grand tourer side of things.
The SLS AMG that followed in 2010 still had the aura of an all-out halo car. However, when this was replaced by the current Mercedes-AMG GT back in 2014 (will.i.am mixed this with a G-Class, remember?), the focus shifted towards a more relaxed grand tourer. The idea was to create a machine with multiple faces (derivatives) that would reach a larger audience.
And that process is once again amplified by the 2023 GT, which will even give up on the SLS-inherited transaxle layout of the car it replaces. Sharing its platform with the new two-plus-two that is the 2022 Mercedes-AMG SL, the GT will keep its gearbox up front, so it can add a pair of seats at the back. And while the SL, with its folding soft top, will handle the cruising duties, albeit in potent fashion, the GT is set to cover the more dynamic part of the equation.
One only had to bring some of the facts mentioned above to see that the GT is moving closer to the successful recipe of the Porsche 911 for its second iteration.
Don’t worry, the V8s aren’t going anywhere!
While Mercedes-AMG models like the C63 are giving up on their Affalterbach V8s for heavily electrified turbo-fours, the 2023 GT inherits the new SL’s V8s—currently, we’re looking at two versions of the company’s twin-turbo 4.0L unit, which make 469 hp (SL55) and 577 hp (SL63)—the Internet has also cooked up a rendering of an SL Wagon and we can only hope a coachbuilder will make this a reality…
Nevertheless, a monstrous plug-in hybrid setup like the one employed by the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance four-door should arrive further down the line (for the record, the 4-door beast makes 843 hp and 1,084 lb-ft/1,470 Nm of torque).
Of course, track-savvy editions like the current car’s GT R Pro and GT Black Series are expected to make a comeback, especially since, as with the SL, the GT is now a Mercedes-AMG affair as opposed to a Mercedes-Benz with an AMG touch.
Expect the second-gen Mercedes-AMG GT to debut later this year, as a 2023 model.
