Earlier this year, Mercedes revealed its new AMG GT 4-Door Coupe as a high-performance EV with 1,153 horsepower, Formula One-derived battery tech, and a drift mode. As impressive as it is on paper, the design and concept both infuriated enthusiasts, who bemoaned the loss of subtle performance cues and the deletion of the V8 engine, and now Affalterbach has veered even further from tradition with the reveal of the similarly styled and identically powered Mercedes-AMG GT SUV. Is this even more offensive, or does it make more sense? To help reach a conclusion, let’s explore AMG’s first-ever full-size in-house SUV, starting with what’s under the skin before looking at the unusual exterior and the handsome cabin.
New Mercedes-AMG GT SUV Delivers Big Numbers
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The new Mercedes-AMG GT SUV arrives in three flavors: GT 53, GT 55, and GT 63. All are built atop the 800-volt AMG.EA platform, but while the base GT 53 combines two permanently excited synchronous motors (one on each axle) to deliver 536 horsepower, the other two trims use a trio of axial flux motors, with the GT 55 producing up to 805 hp and the top-tier GT 63 offering up to 1,153 hp and 1,475 lb-ft of torque, managed with the help of torque vectoring. 0-60 mph takes as little as 2.4 seconds, 0-124 mph takes as little as 6.8 seconds (both figures calculated with a one-foot rollout), and the top speed is 168 mph. All three offer all-wheel drive, with even the base model capable of decoupling the front motor, and the rear motor featuring a two-speed transmission – both to maximize efficiency and performance. As standard, you get steel brakes for the GT 53, while the GT 55 gets access to carbon-ceramic brakes as an option and the GT 63 gets them as standard. Another difference lies in the audio experience, with the GT 53 playing recordings of AMG’s six-cylinder engines and the other two playing V8 sounds taken from the C 190 AMG GT-R. This comes from the AMGFORCE Sport+ drive program, which also allows for simulated gear changes felt in the vibrating seat and accessed via the steering paddles. In any mode, pulling both paddles gives the SUV a boost in performance for a few seconds, and the seatbelts tighten. Other highlights include an AMG Track Pace app to record and display track-specific info, including lap and sector times, a Predictive Performance Manager to optimize energy deployment around a circuit depending on RACE or SPRINT modes, and a drift function. Are these the features electric SUV buyers are asking for? I get that it’s an AMG, but come on. There’s even an active AEROKINETICS roof spoiler for the GT 55 and GT 63, while all models also get access to launch control and a drag race mode, along with individual rotary controls for throttle response, handling dynamism, and traction.
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AMG ACTIVE RIDE CONTROL+ is standard on the range-topper and optional on the GT 55, providing three-stage adjustable air springs and hydraulic interconnection of the dampers, negating the need for traditional anti-roll bars. Multi-link setups front and rear combine with standard rear-axle steering to enhance maneuverability at low speed and stability at high speeds, so the SUV is almost identical in every way to the 4-Door ‘Coupe.’ All of this is wrapped in a body-in-white made of a mix of aluminum, steel, and fiber-reinforced composites. As for battery capacity, you get either a 106 kWh (GT 53) or a 128 kWh battery (GT 55, GT 63) with directly cooled cylindrical cells, enabling up to 435 miles of range combined (on the extremely conservative WLTP cycle; expect nearer 400 miles combined on the EPA’s estimates). Although it’s unlikely you’ll find many chargers capable of matching the architecture, the AMG GT SUV is capable of 710 kW DC fast charging with the bigger battery (600 kW with the smaller one), enabling 10-80 percent recharges in as little as 12 minutes. Fortunately, it’ll switch to 400-volt mode at applicable stations, with an NACS port standard on U.S.-spec models, and at a 400 kW charging station, reaching 80 percent charge from 10 percent takes just 16 minutes with the bigger battery and 14 minutes with the smaller one, which will recoup up to 236 miles of range in 10 minutes. The larger one can recoup up to 279 miles in the same time.
2028 Mercedes-AMG GT SUV: Better Suited to New Styling Language
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The AMG GT 4-Door looks very catfish-like with its concave center ‘grille’ and full-width light bar, but the SUV finds a different way to look like a marine animal. Here, the ‘grille’ is concave, but below and alongside it are two vertical inlets that look extremely gill-like, along with a third, larger inlet disguised in black. The SUV also adds a narrow duct just above the fake (!) grille – please explain yourself, AMG – and the headlights have morphed into something that adds three-pointed star-shaped graphics to what look like Maserati Ghibli headlights. Optionally, the center badge and the grille outline can also be illuminated, while the power bulges on the hood are more conventional (albeit silly in a vehicle without a big engine). At the back, the AMG GT SUV looks more like its lower sibling, with its AMG GT XX Concept-inspired triple-star clusters on each side of a gloss black fascia panel. Lower down, the fake diffuser kicks up into the rear bumper, while fake vents behind the rear wheels complete the look that, admittedly, works better in SUV form than in four-door sedan style.
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In profile, the squared wheel arches have chunky surrounds, and the front fenders get AMG badging and a vent that may or may not be practical. Overall, it’s a busy design language that is still recognizable as a Mercedes, and in darker colors, it doesn’t look too bad. But compared to a Cayenne Electric or even a Bentley Torcal, it’s a little obnoxious, and with AMG forged wheels being available with color accents for the first time, as well as more than 60 MANUFAKTUR paint options on offer, even yellow may not be its final, gaudiest form.
2028 Mercedes-AMG GT SUV Interior and Availability
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Inside, the Mercedes-AMG GT SUV again follows the lead of its Coupe stablemate, and it’s pretty good, creating a far more premium feel than any contemporary BMW SUV, including the new iX5 and the horrendous XM. Along with a 10.2-inch driver display connected to a 14-inch touchscreen infotainment setup, the center console has physical switchgear for mode selection, hazard lights, volume control, and more, with two cupholders and two wireless charging pads. Optionally, a 14-inch display can be added for the front passenger, but that’s pretty pointless, so save your money for the AMG Performance seats or for speccing a special material or color for the quilted upholstery. Better still, use it on the available Burmester High-End 4D Surround Sound System so that those fake engine noises sound as real as possible.
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Also available is SKY CONTROL, a panoramic glass roof with opaque, transparent, and illuminated AMG themes, while the rear seats are a three-passenger bench with folding seatbacks and power-folding headrests. That brings us to cargo volume, which is… not great. You get 21.4 cubic feet in the back and a measly 2.8 cubic feet in front. In the latter, you’ll find a slightly cringey, signed plaque that says this EV is “Born in Affalterbach” instead of a hand-built, ‘One Man, One Engine’ V8. MSRPs have not been announced, but expect six-figure starting prices when the AMG GT SUV reaches U.S. dealerships in summer 2027, with all three models being available at launch.
So, is the AMG GT SUV even more sacrilegious than the four-door coupe? No, but that’s a low bar, and SUVs have been a part of AMG since before the turn of the millennium. Also, we should remember that, subtle as they would look in retrospect, the first AMG production cars from the early 1990s were considered relatively gaudy alongside traditional Benzes of the era, and that’s the case here. Affalterbach is trying new things, things that were set in motion years ago, when EV fever had taken hold of every automaker, and you can’t blame the company for deciding that the best way out of a bad situation is through it. Still, we wonder how many buyers a six-figure luxury electric SUV with a drift mode and wacky styling could possibly attract, excellent as the engineering undoubtedly is. Time will tell.
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