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Wheels:
Mercedes-AMG GT Concept brings super-sportscar performance to the family four-door

The new Mercedes-AMG GT Concept features blistering-fast hybrid-drive tech, a sexy-and-muscular design curiously labeled "Sensual Purity," and technology upgrades like camera-only rearview units and moving radiator intake shutters. [All images courtesy: Mercedes-Benz/AMG]

 

 

 

 

If your quick run to the corner store for your family's milk and donuts includes the need to hit 0 to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds while looking like a million bucks, the new 805-hp Mercedes-AMG GT Concept four-door is right up your alley.

As part of its 50th anniversary, Mercedes showed off its fastback Mercedes-AMG GT Concept at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland, a car that aims to highlight alternative drive configurations AMG is designing and give a sneak peak at what is coming down the line in terms of styling and technical prowess for the series production model.

"With the Mercedes-AMG GT Concept, we are giving a preview of our third completely independently developed sports car and are extending the attractive AMG GT family to include a four-door variant," says Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. The other two sportscars are the SLS AMG and AMG GT, which also were completely developed at AMG's headquarters in Affalterbach, Germany.

The AMG GT Concept shows the way to the future of design and driving performance for the AMG line, which Mercedes has specifically tagged as "Future Performance." In this case, the concept mixes Formula 1 driving dynamics with hybrid efficiency -- an ultra-modern V8 gasoline engine and high-performance electric motor combo networked with a powerful-yet-lightweight battery concept -- and adds technological bells and whistles that really make this prototype sing. On the practical side, it features a large tailgate, luggage compartment, and comfortable interior, so this car can handle trips to grandma's too.

One of the best overall styling cues is that it looks like an AMG. It fits squarely within the line's traditional beefy design cues while still managing to push and pull enough in new directions to say, "Look at me, I'm new and roomy -- and sexy in 'hot red.'" Mercedes wants that in there too (the sexy part), and even has a curious name for the design language of this vehicle. They call it "Sensual Purity."

Whatever you call it, it looks good, with its low sweeping stance and a hood that reaches right down into the wheel arches, a Panamericana grille with vertical ribs painted red on the sides, newly configured and extremely slim headlamps, and side air gills with a dominant design in the front bumper. It also features moving radiator shutters in the center and side air intakes that Mercedes says "are inspired by the AIRPANEL active air control system found in the AMG GT R." The wheel rims are splashed in accents of gold.

The wide rear assembly has extremely slim horizontal tail lamps, which feature a new light technology, located beneath the three-dimensional lens of the rear lamps, in the form of a ribbed cooling module that is integrated into the lens to guide waste heat away. The backside also sports a wide carbon-fiber diffuser curved downward at the sides and a centrally arranged tailpipe reminiscent of the Mercedes-AMG GT R.

Exterior side mirrors are replaced with mini "mirror cams." The roof, A-wing of the front spoilers, rear diffuser, and side sill panels are all finished in carbon fiber, which is a smart, updated, and lightweight way to connect this vehicle to its motorsports heritage.

With "nano active-fiber technology," Mercedes-AMG is presenting future-oriented daytime running lamps for the first time. This is produced by a special bright light system in a freely styled light cord. The 3D illumination effect lends the AMG GT Concept a distinctive light signature, which is complemented by further accents in the high-tech headlamp. Two tubular rod lights illuminate the road surface directly in front of the car and constitute the driving light together with a large LED main headlamp, which sports a red AMG logo.

The drive system of the AMG GT Concept represents a completely new development. After the W08 EQ Power+ Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula 1 car, the AMG GT Concept show car is the second AMG model to bear the new designation "EQ Power+." All performance hybrids from Mercedes-AMG will be given this tag in the future. As in Formula 1, the drive-system battery is charged while the vehicle is driven in order to have the maximum amount of electrical power available for use at all times.

The hybrid system, capable of an output of up to 600 kW, combines a handcrafted AMG 4.0L V8 biturbo engine with an additional powerful electric motor, ensuring immediate response and offering extreme high performance. The fully variable AMG performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive system is supported by an electric motor that drives the rear wheels directly, providing an extra booster effect. Additionally, with torque vectoring, every wheel can be allocated torque individually for maximized performance.

Three operating modes can be preselected via the electric drive unit. The AMG GT Concept can either drive purely electrically (limited range), purely with the combustion engine, or with an optimal combination of both drive sources as a hybrid.

The energy storage unit in the AMG GT Concept is more powerful than conventional hybrid batteries, but at the same time is more compact and lighter. Battery charging while driving can occur via brake recuperation or with the aid of the combustion engine if the battery charge has dropped beneath a certain charge threshold.

A production version of this car is slated for 2019.

Source: Mercedes-Benz/AMG

Published March 2017

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