Mercedes-AMG GT63 four-door S E Performance (2023 - 2026) review – family saloon with Ferrari 296 power

More, lots more. Of everything. Power, torque, gearboxes, driving modes. This is the Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance 4-Door Coupé. More badges, too. It’s at once a technological marvel, a thumping supersaloon, a mind-bendingly fast rocketship and a wildly expensive extravagance. Or, at least, it was until it was discontinued early in 2026 to make way for an all-electric replacement.

Too often we complain about the increased weight, power and complexity of modern performance cars, and this car is perhaps the perfect example. The pure-combustion GT63 four-door is a fine performance saloon and needed no additional oomph, and yet AMG wedged a 6.1kWh battery pack into anyway, giving it the most power of any production Mercedes bar the ultra-exclusive Project One. Did any of that extra power make it a better driver’s car?

Engine, gearbox and technical highlights

The headlines are 831bhp, 1084lb ft and a very substantial 2305kg. Aside from the AMG One – remember that? – it’s the most powerful AMG product ever made. Do we care? Well, why not? We are well beyond the realms of sanity with these sorts of cars, so why not embrace the madness and submit to the ridiculousness of it all?

Besides, it’s hard not to marvel at the sheer force of will AMG employed to create this monstrous saloon car. I have no idea about the ‘why’ but the ‘how’ is something to behold. In simple terms, this is a GT63 S augmented for even greater performance. It retains the fabulous 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, producing 630bhp and 664lb ft, but supplements it with an electric motor that forms part of a kind of super-transaxle, comprising motor, two-speed gearbox and e-differential. This layout allows a 50:50 weight distribution, which is better than the slightly front-heavy pure-ICE GT63 S.

16

The e-motor can add 201bhp and helps deliver that tarmac-wrinkling torque figure. It acts directly on the rear axle but the 4Matic+ four-wheel-drive system allows the power to be distributed to the front wheels, too. A 6.1kWh battery pack sits above the rear axle and features direct cooling for its 560 cells. The battery, which weighs 89kg, is said to be derived from F1 learnings and AMG claims a high power density plus exceptionally fast charge and discharge rates. 

The E Performance has an electric-only range of around eight miles at speeds of up to 81mph. However, as you may have guessed, that’s hardly the point. Unlike some recent plug-in hybrid V8s, it doesn’t provide much in the way of improved fuel economy, either, with 25mpg the absolute best we could extract from it on our test. There’s no dedicated ‘battery charge’ mode to quickly give the battery a boost, either, but drive in sport mode or above and it will slowly regenerate. 

> Mercedes-AMG GT review – better than the original, but a match for the Porsche 911?

Performance, ride and handling

It’s tempting to jump in, dial everything up to 11 and feel the force. Who doesn’t want to experience AMG’s gloriously characterful V8 fed with a shot of electric nitrous? Yet, I attempt restraint. There’s so much to try to appreciate here and to decode in order to get the best from this complicated machine. Does the EV mode seem useable? Can the engine and nine-speed gearbox combine seamlessly with the new rear drive unit?

First impressions are familiar if you’ve driven an E63 or GT63 in the past. Those same rock-hard yet supportive seats, the same sense of a big, wide car that’s at once intimidating due to its scale but reassuring due to the obvious stability and control. The rich, deep V8 noise is comforting, although there’s definitely a little sci-fi whoosh swimming around the tight, evocative, heavy-metal soundtrack. The most pleasing thing of all is that the GT63 feels special and exciting even at low speeds. This is a nut that EVs – never mind whether they possess 1000bhp – have yet to crack. Something about the beat and connection with a barrel-chested petrol-powered engine is going to take some weaning from. This mighty car has character in abundance.

16

Utilising twin-chamber air springs and electronically adjustable dampers, AMG Ride Control+ provides good ride quality but the old problems of air springs – a kind of brittle, shuddering feel over high-frequency bumps – remain. I actually prefer the feel of the car in its stiffer Sport and Sport+ settings, and unlike some cars of this kind, the drive modes make a noticeable and immediate difference to ride. Things are a little busier in these modes but there’s greater consistency.

Beside the drive mode dial on the right hand side of the wheel, another one controls two functions simultaneously, from suspension to ESC, sound to gearbox mode. It sounds hellishly confusing but works pretty well. There are more layers to come thanks to AMG Dynamics, effectively an overarching strategy for ESP, e-diff, rear steer and 4WD that runs through Basic, Advanced, Pro and Master programmes. It’s tied to the driver modes, thankfully, so you don’t really have to mess around with it too much. 

The combined effect of all this hardware and software is simply huge performance, incredible grip levels even in slippery conditions, a great deal of driver confidence and, for the most part, an intuitive, cohesive dynamic character. The GT63 S E Performance really is quite shockingly fast and yet the chassis rarely scrabbles for traction or shows any signs of the weight pushing the car into understeer or tipping it into oversteer. Just point, shoot and hold on. And enjoy the crackling soundtrack that has a really nice bonus of turbo chirrups, flutters and at low speeds a sound not dissimilar to straight-cut gears from the electric drive system – just try to ignore the mildly offensive synthetic ‘crack’ sound on each upshift.

For the most part the integration of the e-motor is very well executed. It really does feel like an 8-litre V8 that happens to rev past 7000rpm rather than an engine being supported with lumps of electric power. Find a road where you can stay flat through multiple gears, though, and there’s a noticeable step down in output between the ratios, almost as if boost is falling off in the process. The power is relentless either way, but this disruption feels a little old fashioned next to the refined Ultra Performance Hybrid V8 powertrain seen in Bentley, Audi and Lamborghini models. The transmission is quick enough on the way up, but downshifts can occasionally come with much less conviction than you expect, resulting in mistakenly stacked downshift requests and clumsy corner entries.

16

The brakes don’t quite match the performance of the powertrain, though. There’s plenty of power, of course, but the pedal feel is quite inconsistent and unusually grabby at cold temperatures, unlike most modern ceramic brakes. One moment there’s really strong top-of-the-pedal bite, the next it goes long and soft. The threshold between regen and friction braking is all too apparent. It’s the first chink in the GT63’s armour, the first time you’re aware of the mass beneath you. 

Once the big saloon is loaded into a corner it really is superbly balanced, and despite its huge mass, steering response is direct and inspires great confidence – you do lack that fine feedback you might get in something with less weight to handle, but rear-steer and aggressive geometry give a front end with keenness you might not expect. One byproduct of this is some of the worst low speed, full-lock crabbing I’ve come across, which serves as a nice reminder of just how capable this car is, even if you’re just trying to wedge it into a space at Tescos.

The dynamic limitation instead comes on bumpy, undulating roads, where the suspension starts to unravel and vertical movements run away from the control of the dampers, especially in the slackened comfort mode. At times even in Sport+ mode the body floats as the wheels crash and clatter beneath and the reality of accelerating, turning and stopping 2305kg comes into sharp focus. 

So, the GT63 S E Performance is remarkable… right until the point it isn’t. Suddenly the polish evaporates and the car feels clumsy. It’s certainly a sharper and more noticeable deterioration than you’d find in the much lighter (but still 2-ton) GT63 S, which makes do without the hybrid system but gets on pretty well with just 630bhp. Should you really push the E Performance hard and exceed the limits of rear grip, the transition into oversteer is fast and pretty scary at times, too. Best to dial everything back and enjoy the security and drama of the car at a slightly lower, but still supersonic, pace. 

16

Overall, though, the sense of mass is inescapable. There’s just a shade more inertia to everything the car does, and even the way it will continue to accelerate for a split-second as you come off the throttle can be eerie and create a bit of a runaway-train sensation. Compared with a standard GT63 S what you gain in pure brute force you lose in subtlety and precision. Set against our favourite supersaloon, the sublime BMW M5 CS, the Mercedes feels hundreds of kilos heavier – which it is – and nothing like as organic and free-breathing dynamically. More like a ballistic luxury car than a true supersaloon.  

I can see the case for that formula and the Mercedes does feel a quality item. Yet the persistent road noise from huge 315-section rear tyres and wind noise that sometimes buffets as though a window is cracked open undermines the luxury brief. Ultimately, the GT63 S E Performance is an impressive but slightly confused car and loses more than it gains with the hybrid application. The technology is deeply impressive but despite tricks like using the e-motor to help with ESC tuning to prevent the sharp cutting of power to the wheels, the real benefit is pure straight-line capability. We’d argue it had enough of that already.

Interior and tech

The GT63 S E Performance is not a small car by any measure, but it’s a reverse tardis. The cabin is cosseting to put it lightly, but while the tall, button-festooned centre console adds to the theatre, it contributes to a space that’s not as practical as you might expect. Rear-seat passengers get bucket seats which add the support you need in such a capable car, but they mean a fifth passenger is off the cards. The lack of practicality continues elsewhere, as the fitment of that 6.1kWh battery pack takes a good portion of depth from the boot that you get in the pure-combustion model. 

A high bonnet and beltline make you feel like you’re in something special, and while thankfully Mercedes-AMG allows you to sit nice and low in this car, you can’t see an awful lot out of it if you do. There’s very good wheel adjustment, though, which is not a given in 2026, and the customisable rotary drive mode dials on the steering wheel give you some of the easiest access to such a vast array of drive modes I’ve seen.

16

The infotainment display and overall interface is slightly dated, and for good reason, as it’s a generation behind more recent Mercedes-Benz products. It’s all functional though and this car has all of the niceties regardless. You’ll find well integrated Apple CarPlay, massaging, heated and cooled seats, and matte carbonfibre trim ensuring you never forget that you’re in something special.

Even with the upgraded Burmester sound system, the speakers are surprisingly disappointing, but one factor that won’t be helping matters is the road noise. Those huge 315-section rear tyres pump a constant roar into the cabin and while the unusual whirring and clunking from the powertrain is fascinating at first, it becomes a little tiresome when all you want to do is cover a couple of hundred miles in comfort.

Price, specs and rivals

The Mercedes-AMG GT63 four-door S E Performance started from £178,704 when it was on sale between 2023 and early-2026, which makes it almost £50,000 more expensive than the V8-only GT63. As a result, not many sold at all, with just over 40 currently registered in the UK at the time of writing. If you’d like an ultra-rare super saloon though, it’s a great choice, and used examples are already on the market for closer to the £110,000 mark.

Rivals are very sparse, but the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid and G90 BMW M5 come closest. While it does have slightly less combined output from its 771bhp plug-in hybrid 4-litre V8 powertrain, the Porsche is marginally cheaper at £175,100. The BMW M5 is much cheaper than both with a starting price of £111,885, but it shows in the numbers – 717bhp puts it over 100bhp down on the Mercedes-AMG, with its 0-62mph time six tenths slower, too.

In the real world, the Panamera feels like a more rounded, sophisticated product, with more refined dynamics coming courtesy of its trick active anti-roll suspension. It’s ludicrously effective in a straight line too, despite its slight power disadvantage, but it’s not as playful as the AMG on the limit. The BMW M5 sits between the two in this department, but it does feel like the cheaper product it is.

Mercedes-AMG GT63 four-door S E Performance specs

Share this on TwitterShare this on FacebookEmailAdd as a preferred source on Google