Mercedes-AMG GT SUV revealed as brand embraces EVs

Mercedes-AMG has whipped the covers off the GT SUV, its new high-performance electric SUV.

The GT SUV is the second car based on the all-electric AMG.EA platform, and as such has a lot in common with the GT 4-Door Coupe unveiled in May.

Stylistically the two vehicles have many similarities. Up front there’s a similar open-mouth grille, albeit one that’s narrower and positioned higher up on the front bumper.

The grille is purely ornamental as it’s a sea of gloss black plastic into which eight vertical bars and a large three-pointed star are set. Both the bars and star can be illuminated as part of an optional package.

For the SUV, AMG has omitted the strip of black plastic linking the headlights.

As with the sedan, the SUV has a collection of six turbine-inspired tail-lights set embedded in a field of black plastic.

The GT SUV is 5084mm long, 2001mm wide, 1656mm tall, and rides on a 3040mm wheelbase, meaning it is 10mm shorter front-to-rear, 42mm wider and 245mm taller than the GT 4-Door Coupe, which should result in a more spacious cabin for passengers.

Under the VDA standard, boot space with the rear seats up has grown from 415L in the sedan to 607L in the SUV. There’s also a larger frunk under the bonnet, with the SUV’s boasting 78L of capacity compared to the sedan’s 41L.

The dashboard seems to be a straight lift from the sedan, and has a large slab containing a 14.0-inch touchscreen angled towards the driver and a 10.2-inch instrumentation display behind the steering wheel.

Ahead of the front passenger is an option 14.0-inch touchscreen. Grippy seats are standard, but buyers can opt for Performance seats with integrated headrests.

Like the GT sedan, the SUV will be available at launch with the choice of three drivetrains. The range starts with the GT 53 SUV, which has two synchronous motors.

Meanwhile the GT 55 SUV and GT 63 SUV both feature three axial-flux motors. With a motor for each rear wheel, the 55 and 63 both feature “targeted” torque vectoring. They also equipped with an intelligent aero system that has a self-deploying rear wing, but in most situations reduces drag by closing off cooling inlets.

The 55 and 63 also feature the Race Engineer Control Unit, which is a series of three rotary dials in the centre console.

One adjusts the responsiveness of the electric motors, another switches between the nine levels of traction control, while the Agility Control knob allows the driver to set the cornering behaviour to anywhere between understeer and “controlled” oversteer.

Tipping the scales between 2525kg and 2715kg, depending on specification, the GT SUV weighs roughly 100kg to 150kg more than the equivalent sedan.

Combined with its higher aerodynamic drag rating (0.27 vs 0.24), the SUV is about 0.3s slower to 100km/h than the sedan, while range in 106kWh variants is down by about 70km.

All three drivetrains use an 800V electrical system that supports AC charging up to 11kW. DC fast charging maxes out at 600kW for cars with the 106kWh battery pack, and 710kW for those with the larger 128kWh unit.

The GT SUV rides on the company’s new Active Control+ suspension system that has active pitch and roll stabilisation. When the AMGForce Sport+ mode is engaged, the driver can enable a dynamically-generated eight- or six-cylinder soundtrack that can be accompanied by simulated gear changes and seat shakers.

The entry-level GT 53 SUV will be the first to come down the production line in Sindelfingen, with the 55 and 63 becoming available in Europe from the second quarter of 2027.

Pricing for GT 53 SUV starts from €113,050 (A$183,000) in Germany.

MORE: Explore the Mercedes-AMG GT showroom