Mercedes-Benz’s AMG performance division will launch the second-generation GT in 2023, heavily redesigning and re-engineering the two-door flagship to take on the Porsche 911.
The new model, known under the internal codename C192, has been twinned with the recently introduced seventh-generation Mercedes-AMG SL. However, it will be produced exclusively in coupé form, leaving the open-top duties to its SL sibling, which now also wears an AMG, rather than a Benz, badge because the performance division took over the engineering programmes for the sporting duo.
Stylistically, the new GT takes on an evolutionary appearance, with familiar long-bonnet and short-tail proportions. As with the first-generation model, introduced in 2015, it receives a large liftback-style tailgate.
Active aerodynamics have played a central role in the development of the new GT, which receives the same front underbody spoiler as the SL. It extends downwards by around 40mm at a speed of 62mph to create a Venturi effect underneath the car, eventually reducing front axle lift by a claimed 50kg at 155mph. At the rear, meanwhile, a wing deploys and tilts in five different stages to increase downforce at speeds above 50mph.
As with the latest SL, the new GT has been developed and engineered in a programme led by AMG but with key input from other Mercedes-Benz divisions. These include the High Performance Powertrain division headquartered in Brixworth, which was also responsible for engineering the Formula 1-derived powertrain in the highly strung Mercedes-AMG One road car, revealed belatedly this year.
Affalterbach headquarters in Germany have revealed that the company’s 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine, codenamed M178, will feature from the start of second-generation GT sales in 2023 with dry-sump lubrication. Hand-assembled on site, the twin-turbocharged unit is expected to offer a similar output as in the SL, with 469bhp in a new GT 53 model and 577bhp in a successor to the GT 63.