Geneva Motor Show 2017: Mercedes-AMG GT Concept Revealed

It's a 'fall in love' kind of moment when you look at this low-slung GT concept. But it's not 'just another concept'. It's a concept that is part of AMG's 50th anniversary celebrations and the way it's designed is makes one nostalgic. The styling draws inspiration from AMG's two-year-old GT sports car, and it also comes with a Panamericana grille and thin, horizontally positioned LED tail lamps. The GT Concept also showcases the design and style direction Mercedes-Benz is taking and this is basically how future models will look like.

The production version of the AMG-GT Concept will come by 2019

"The GT Concept embodies the most extreme expression of our design idiom and underlines anew the autonomous profile of AMG as a performance brand", said Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer Daimler AG. "Through perfect proportions it creates a puristic design with the emphasis on its surfaces, featuring sensuous shapes and is hot and cool at the same time."

It will not remain a concept though, as Mercedes will bring out a production model of the car by 2019. The GT sports car is built on its own unique aluminium platform structure, but the production version will be built on the modified MRA platform which is adopted by the C-Class and the E-Class.

Under the hood of this fastback concept is a new petrol-electric hybrid driveline which has been developed in partnership with the German car maker's High Performance Production division. The hybrid power train combines AMG's twin-turbocharged 4.0 litre V8 petrol engine with an electric motor to deliver a combined system output of a massive 805 bhp.

The Mercedes-AMG GT Concept punches out 805 bhp

0-100 kmph is dealt with in under 3 seconds and that's extremely impressive. Of course the operating strategy of the new petrol-electric powerplant has been derived from the hybrid unit used by the Mercedes-Benz F1 team with the battery charged whilst the car is being driven, both through brake energy recuperation and the aid of the combustion engine. Three operating modes can be preselected via the electric drive unit: the AMG GT Concept either drives purely electrically or only with the combustion engine or it optimally combines both drive sources with one another as a hybrid. The manifestation of the operating strategy, the definition of the drive programs and fundamental hybrid components are exclusive AMG developments.

Among the key rivals for the new AMG model will be the new second-generation Audi A7, BMW 6-series GranCoupe and Porsche Panamera.