Mercedes-AMG has been busy. The in-house performance division of the marque recently developed the open-top SL (read more here). This week the company unveiled the second-generation Mercedes-AMG GT at Monterey Car Week.

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All-new Underneath

The second-gen Mercedes-AMG GT may appear like a heavily facelifted version of the original, but it is all-new from the ground up. The new body-in-white consists of aluminium, steel, magnesium, as well as glass- and carbon-fibre. Mercedes says that the newer GT has a larger boot and the added convenience of a 2+2 seating layout.

The front end has more rounded headlamp units as well as a grille that is reminiscent of the GT Black Series. The rear of Merc’s 911 fighter looks more like an err… 911. C’mon, tell us that rump isn’t similar to a 992. 

More V8 Power

Mercedes has carried over the well-known twin-turbocharged V8 into the new Mercedes-AMG GT. The 4,0-litre motor will be available in two states of tune: GT55 and GT63.

The lesser powered version has 350 kW of power and 700 N.m of torque. This allows for a 0-100 km/h time of 3,9 seconds and a top speed of 295 km/h. The GT63 has 430 kW and 800 N.m. The more potent version can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3,2 seconds and has a top speed of 315 km/h.

In part, those acceleration figures are made possible by all-wheel-drive traction. Yes, the new AMG GT is AWD with power transmitted via a nine-speed automatic transmission. A wet starting clutch replaces the torque converter. The fully variable AWD system can split the available torque 50:50 or send all of it to the rear axle – NICE! Active rear-wheel steering adds to the agility of the new coupe.