Why Is Mercedes Counting On A Four-Door AMG GT?

There is no getting away from the fact that consumers these days have a very specific set of requirements when it comes to cars. The permutations and combinations for those are just about endless. Carmakers have no choice but to take on those challenges and keep reinventing themselves to satisfy the needs of the customer. One such specific set of prerequisites comes from people who want a sensible yet more stylish four-door saloon, which also packs enough meat underneath its bonnet to put most sports cars to shame.

That’s where terms like fastbacks and ‘Sportback’ come into the christening ceremony. Several biggies have products that cater to this kind of customers and the segment is steadily gaining popularity amongst the super-rich. Maserati has the Quattroporte, Porsche has the Panamera, Audi has been trying to lure customers with its RS7, BMW has the M6 Gran Coupe and Aston Martin has the Rapide, which is one of the most expensive of the lot. Now, Mercedes-Benz wants a piece of that action too. At the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, it unwrapped the four-door AMG GT concept. The production-spec version of the car is slated to wow every car nutter at next year’s 2018 Geneva Motor Show. So, let’s talk about what we can expect from the four-door sports saloon.

The Boring Stuff

We apologise for this but we need to mention some of the boring stuff too. The four-door GT will not be a stretched version of the GT Coupe. In fact, it will be built on the same platform as the E-Class. We can safely deduce that the GT will be the sportiest iteration of the platform and will be mechanically close to the Mercedes-AMG E63. However, the new saloon will have a wider track and a coupe-like silhouette. Another takeaway from this is that we should not expect the CLS 63, which was once the pinnacle of a sporty four-door Mercedes, to make a comeback.

The Oomph Factor

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

There is no other way to put it - nothing has officially surfaced on this front. But we do have some groundwork laid out for us to speculate what would power the four-door GT. The entry-level is expected to feature a hybrid powertrain with a 6-cylinder petrol mill capable of producing around 400PS. The 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 that powers the E63 and the AMG GT will also make the cut. However, we expect a hybrid V8 powerplant that is likely to pump out over 800 horses to be the range-topper. Nice!

Production And Launch

Several spy shots of the four-door GT being tested have surfaced. Mercedes is likely to put the four-door GT in production sometime in the first half of next year. In the second half, the German carmaker is expected to launch it in markets within its home continent. 

There's a good change that it will make its way in India soon after it goes on sale in Europe. Why? Well, Mercedes has been taking the Indian market quite seriously. Its extensive AMG lineup in the country is proof of that and we have no doubt that the German carmaker will keep adding more products which flaunt AMG inscriptions. A surprising statistic popped up during the launch of the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 and CLA 45 earlier this month. Roland Folger, CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, shared that the average age of an AMG-branded car buyer in India is around 30 years, which is seven less than the US. That says a lot, doesn’t it?