Affalterbach reveals the 1,169 hp Mercedes-AMG GT SUV

The legacy of Affalterbach was written in V8 rumble, supercharged whine, and clouds of vaporized rear Michelins. It used to be simple - if you wanted a fast Mercedes SUV, AMG's recipe was unsubtle: take a practical family car, shoehorn a hand-built twin-turbo V8 beneath the bonnet, stiffen the suspension until your fillings rattled, and let the exhaust wake the dead. But the whole world has moved on, and after years of watching the competition, AMG has done something it has never attempted in its 59-year history. They have built an SUV in-house from a clean sheet of paper - and they have decided to skip internal combustion altogether. The result is the new Mercedes-AMG GT SUV, and it is so unhinged that it makes the old AMGs look timid.

The new GT SUV sits on a bespoke AMG.EA electric platform that is desperate to prove that AMG hasn't lost its appetite for excess. The range-topping GT 63 SUV comes with a tri-motor powertrain - one upfront and two on the rear axle - featuring pancake-thin axial-flux electric motors engineered by British outfit Yasa. Total output is 860 kW, which translates to 1,169 hp (or 1,153 bhp for the traditionalists) and 1,480 lb-ft of torque. That's more than the Formula 1-derived AMG One hypercar's 1,048 hp, and nearly double the wallop of the combustion-powered GLE 63 S. Interestingly, continuous output is pegged at 530 kW (721 hp).

In top-spec 63 guise, this family shuttle launches from 0 to 62 mph in 2.7 seconds - or 2.5 seconds if you factor in the standard American-style one-foot rollout - and blasts past 124 mph in 7.2 seconds. Tick the box for the optional AMG Driver's Package, and top speed climbs to (still electronically limited) 270 km/h. To fully appreciate those numbers, you have to remember that this is a five-seat family luxury cruiser weighing between 5,699 lb and 5,941 lb depending on the battery pack you choose. Watching something the size of a garden shed rip toward the horizon with the savagery of a hypercar is an experience that's really hard to process.

Controlling all that power and heft around corners needs something way smarter than traditional anti-roll bars - AMG chucked those straight into the parts bin. In their place we get the newly developed AMG Active Ride Control+ suspension, combining three-stage air springs with hydraulically interconnected dampers and an 8.2-liter pressure reservoir. This clever system pumps hydraulic fluid across the corners in real time, physically resisting roll in bends and stamping out pitch and diving under acceleration or hard braking. Backed by active rear-axle steering that pivots the rear wheels by up to 6 degrees against the fronts below 50 mph (and up to 1 degree in phase at high speed), the GT SUV "shrinks" its footprint to turn through tight bends like a much smaller sports saloon.

At 200.2 inches long, 78.8 inches wide, and 65.2 inches tall, with a generous 119.7 inches wheelbase, the GT SUV sits much lower than a traditional high-riding off-roader. Compared to the GLE 63 S, it is 5.1 inches longer, 0.67 inches narrower, and drops 4.96 inches lower, slicing aerodynamic drag down to 0.27 Cd. The Lotus Eletre R stretches slightly longer at 200.9 inches and wider at 87.8 inches while tipping the scales around 5,820 lb, yet its twin-motor setup tops out at 905 hp. The electric Porsche Cayenne and the BMW iX M70 are much shorter and BMW is playing a bit of catch-up against the AMG's horsepower.

But power without endurance is meaningless on road or track, which is why the battery technology is where the real engineering wizardry hides. Customers can choose between usable capacities of 106 kWh or 128 kWh, built around tall cylindrical NCMA cells measuring 4.13 inches tall and 1.02 inches wide. Rather than relying on simple bottom-plate cooling, AMG submerges every single cell in a bath of non-conductive dielectric cooling oil managed by a Central Coolant Hub. The result is extraordinary thermal stamina and charging speeds that don't fall far behind the Chinese benchmarks. Hooked to an 800V charger, the 128 kWh pack can draw juice at up to 710 kW, going from 10% to 80% in 12 minutes, or adding 282 miles of range in ten minutes flat. Maximum claimed range reaches an impressive 435 miles, though realistic motorway cruising will likely see that figure settle into a more sensible bracket.

Open the frameless doors, and the interior layout wastes no time proving that this is a GT sports car first and an SUV second. You drop into deeply bolstered AMG buckets that sit surprisingly low into the chassis, far removed from the van-like driving posture found in most family crossovers. Up front, a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster blends into a driver-angled 14.0-inch central touchscreen running the new MB.OS software (passenger display is optional). But unlike the low-slung AMG GT 4-Door Coupé (with its awkward footwell recesses cut into its battery pack), the SUV's taller proportions allow for a flat floor throughout the cabin. Rear passengers get generous legroom, and the luggage compartment swallows 21.4 ft³ of kit behind the seats, expanding to 61.4 ft³ when folded, and there's a handy 3.92 ft³ front trunk for your charging cables.

Because pure electric acceleration can sometimes feel sterile, AMG went to extraordinary lengths to inject some theater back into the cabin. The headline party trick is the AMGFORCE Sport+ mode - it plays over 100 acoustic profiles from actual combustion heroes like the AMG GT R. An authentic V8 rumble is piped through the cabin; it shifts pitch with throttle load, complete with simulated transmission shifts via steering wheel paddles and integrated seat shakers that physically thud against your spine (yes, really). In the center console, the AMG Race Engineer interface gives you three rotary dials to manually tweak motor response, yaw agility, and dial in nine levels of traction control slip. It is a proper petrolhead indulgence wrapped in modern silicon.

Apart from the GT 63, there are two more models to choose from. Sitting at the base of the mountain is the GT 53 SUV, which goes on sale first in Germany priced from $132,440. It drops the exotic axial-flux hardware in favor of two conventional permanent magnet synchronous motors developing 400 kW (544 hp) and 590 lb-ft, managing the 0 to 62 mph run in 4.2 seconds courtesy of a clever two-speed gearbox on the rear axle. Above it sits the mid-tier GT 55 SUV, with the tri-motor axial-flux layout to dish out 600 kW (816 hp) and 1,372 lb-ft, hitting 62 mph in 3.1 seconds. Both the 55 and the flagship 63 will roll out in spring 2027, backed by an options list that will push the price into six-figure sums - carbon-ceramic brakes, Manufaktur paint finishes, and color-accented forged wheels are the usual suspects.

The electric GT SUV is a huge (figuratively and literally) pivot for Mercedes-Benz. After the lukewarm reception given to the egg-shaped, aero-obsessed EQ series, Affalterbach took control of its own destiny, outfitting Hall 32 at its historic 111-year-old Sindelfingen plant to build performance EVs on their own terms. It's a gamble, especially in a market where luxury EV depreciation can be brutal and charging infrastructure rarely delivers the advertised 700 kW. But as an engineering statement - AMG has crafted something special. It is heavy, absurdly fast, and loaded with high-tech theatrics, but above all, it proves that Affalterbach still knows how to build a proper monster - electric or not.

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