2024 Mercedes-AMG GT63 Coupe Review: Falling In Line

Close your eyes. Picture a high-end, high-performance German sports coupe, one capable of crossing great distances in less-than-ideal weather, with the added security of all-wheel drive and the practicality of (vestigial) rear seats.

You just pictured a 911, didn’t you? It’s true, Stuttgart’s icon has occupied the all-weather sports car spot seemingly forever. But with the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT, the folks at Affalterbach have more directly targeted Porsche. This second-generation model is bigger, techier, and yes, friendlier. The GT is a whole lot more capable this year—and just a little less interesting.

What’s New for 2024:

The GT enters its second generation this year. No longer a bespoke model—despite the name, the GT 4-Door Coupe sits on an E-Class foundation—the GT now shares its platform with the SL. This makes for quite a growth spurt: over half a foot in length, a few inches more height, and a whopping 600-pound weight increase. Hey, at least it's not M5 levels of added poundage.

With the SL pairing comes that car’s standard 4Matic all-wheel drive system, along with rear-wheel steer. The GT Coupe arrives with the muscular 4.0-liter V8 in two states of tune: the GT 55 produces 469 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, while this GT 63 pumps those rookie numbers up to 577 and 590, respectively. AMG will bolster the duo on both sides for 2025: a four-cylinder GT 43 arrives as the new base trim, while a track-focused, 603-horsepower GT 63 Pro sharpens up the current range-topper. Above all sits the 805-pony GT 63 S E Performance, which picks up the plug-in powertrain from the S 63 S E Performance we recently tested.

Exterior Style: Glamor Model

Despite the dimensional increases, the GT still looks shockingly compact. The extremities have been vacuum-packed around those enormous wheels, and the exaggerated long-nose, short-deck proportions maintained. The front-end design is still a recognizable evolution of the previous model, the scowling headlights and large grille distancing it from the posher SL. Move around that low nose and take in the soft swell of the rear arches, the pert tail, those cool, three-dimensional taillights. Even in no-surprises silver, the GT oozes presence. It’s quite practical, too: the big liftback opens up to a storage space easily capable of supporting a week (or two) away.

Powertrain and Fuel Economy: Monster’s Ball

Thank you, Lucas Göte Garcez. The man’s signature sits atop that wicked V8, displacing four liters but comprising two distinct personalities. In a softer drive mode around town, it’s mild-mannered, providing a tidal wave of torque to effortlessly cruise along, a cultured burble trailing. But break free of urban centers and the GT doesn’t just dash into the nearest phone booth to change—it lights the thing on fire as it leaves. Like many other German bent-eights, this one must be putting down more power than quoted; a corral starting with a 6, at least. Throttle response goes from reasonable to touchpaper sharp depending on drive mode, the latter tough to be smooth with on public roads. Merc quotes a 3.2-second roll-out for the dash to 62 mph (100 km/h), but based on the sheer eyeball-flattening shove of launch control, that too seems conservative.

And the sound! AMG crafts muscle cars, just on a diet of schnitzel instead of burgers. There’s an addictive rumble here that turns to thunder on the back half of the rev range.

The one weak point is the wet-clutch nine-speed transmission. In maximum attack it does well enough, firing off upshifts with a quick crack. It can stumble on low-speed part-throttle maneuvering however, a jerkiness that would be out of place on a vehicle half this price. While it’s possible to lock the ‘box in full manual control, and the responses are quick enough, tactile joy is not found from the glorified buttons behind the spokes.

Handling and Drivability: Efficiency Over Fun

How does it handle now that it’s bigger and heavier, with all-wheel drive and rear-axle steer? Well, the GT is still very sharp. It’s noticeably front-engined, that long hood slicing into a corner before you, like riding at the back of a rollercoaster. The weight distribution has shifted from a slight rear bias to more up front, and that shines through in the predictable responses. The rear-wheel steering does make it so agile around low-speed stuff too. That being said, you’re never in doubt about the weight of this thing: the GT is wide and always reminds you of it, getting its elbows out. It feels dense. Nonetheless, the GT is fun enough to throw at corners, the quick responses earning trust.

There’s not a whole lot of feedback through the steering wheel. It’s fine, and possibly too heavy considering the muteness, but even in Sport+ it doesn’t have as much resistance to lean on as I’d like. Of course, there’s a ton of mechanical grip: the GT has about a foot of rubber at each corner.

Big props to Mercedes for the implementation of the carbon ceramic brakes here. Even just brushing them, there’s no grabbiness, they’re very progressive, easy to modulate, and I trust them completely even on a tiny, challenging backroad.

Ride Quality and Comfort: Breadth of Abilities

There’s no getting around it: this is a stiffly sprung car. Yes, it has adaptive suspension, but there are 21-inch alloys, a lot of weight, and a lot of power. AMG Active Ride Control is very clever, don’t get me wrong: it hydraulically links opposite corners instead of using traditional anti-roll bars to provide a (comparatively) softer ride without sacrificing control. Over broken pavement, you still feel bumps and there’s plenty of road noise from those enormous tires. The trade-off is iron-fisted body control, and practically zero pitch and roll. For some reason, certain frequencies of bumps bring about a sound from the instrument cluster just like the selection noise on the center screen. It’s weird. Of course, this car has an upgraded Burmester sound system that is excellent, should you get tired of the natural soundtrack of that V8 for some reason. I don’t know, stranger things have happened.

The GT delivers so much high performance, so quickly, and then so easily goes back to straight chilling, that it’s mind-blowing. It resets the idea of quick and comfortable, nothing short of a 911 Turbo will do that.

Interior Style and Quality: High-Function, High Fashion

I’ll say one thing right off the bat: the GT still feels tight inside. It definitely doesn’t feel quite as airy and spacious as something like, well, a 911. I will say it’s a special-feeling cabin though: just look at all the red and black leather. The seats are super comfortable; not too aggressively bolstered, they have such a natural seating position that it’s easy to put big miles on from behind the wheel—even if the reality of such a low-slung car means it’s not the easiest to get in and out.

The interior follows the current Mercedes cabin design approach, which means a big portrait-style screen in the center, a highly configurable digital instrument cluster, and a big, thick steering wheel with a whole bunch of controls.

Tech and Safety: Big Improvements

This is something AMG does so well, because the dials and buttons give drivers access to most of the important controls right where it matters. The left dial is split in two for even more settings: start-stop, manual shifting, aero options, you name it. The right-side dial remains an easy-access spot for the different, pre-set drive modes. About the only thing I can’t access easily from the wheel is the nose lift. This is a low car, so you’ll want to do that when the situation calls for it. Luckily there is a GPS function tied to the nose-lift, so you can save each spot it’s necessary and, provided the car is under a certain speed, it will take care of it for you.

MBUX remains a generally good system since it offers up big, clear options on its main menu. The problems arise once you begin menu-diving since there are so many adjustments to be made. The touch-sensitive pads on the steering wheel are useful but require additional swipes on most screens to figure out the “start” point.

Value Dollars and Sense:

America and Canada go about pricing the GT coupe very differently, with unique approaches to equipment and packages. This Canadian-spec tester has seen relatively restrained box-checking: almost half of the added cost over the base $195,000 CAD comes from the carbon ceramic brakes ($12,000 CAD) and carbon exterior design package ($6,925 CAD). The rest consists of the Exclusive Package (MBUX interior assist, HUD, and Energizing Comfort for $3,300 CAD), those excellent but pricey seats ($3,175 CAD), a driver assistance package ($2,700 CAD), useful front axle lift ($2,500 CAD), pretty wheels ($800 CAD), plus an indoor car cover and dash cam ($800 CAD). Mercedes lets Canadian dealers set their own destination fees (up to a frankly ridiculous $5,835 CAD), plus the mandatory luxury sales tax, and the GT ends up with a Canadian list price of $256,308 CAD.

The closest equivalent build we could do on the American configurator has a final sticker of $209,270 including destination, though it misses a few features of the Canadian model.

For reference, that’s a little above the now-hybridized 911 GTS, which gives away 45 ponies to the Merc but can match its straight-line dash to 62 mph (100 km/h) on account of being much lighter. We haven’t sampled the facelifted 911 yet, but we did drive the ’23 GTS last year and found it an excellent all-rounder.

Final Thoughts: 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT63 Coupe Review

No doubt about it, the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT63 is better equipped to take on the 911, as well as the Vantage, Continental GT, and other top-shelf sports cars. Yes, that’s because it’s gone soft—comparatively, anyway. It now better suits its name, really.

It’s not the raving mad extrovert of before, but the GT is still a more exciting—though less precise—more interesting choice than the default rear-engined one. And as the leaves start to drop off the trees, it’s a reminder that now, this is a choice that can be enjoyed all year long.

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