Formula One returns to Shanghai this weekend, and while Red Bull and Max Verstappen have been dominating the season so far, it’s a big weekend for Mercedes-AMG. Affalterbach’s E Performance engines power the top three qualifiers, including in-house driver Lewis Hamilton (second on the grid). On the sidelines of the F1 circus, the company has also unveiled its new coupe flagship: the 805-horsepower, plug-in hybrid 2025 Mercedes-AMG GT 63S E Performance.
Though they’ve only recently come to U.S. showrooms, Mercedes-AMG has been gradually electrifying its hottest machery since 2021. The first was the 831-horsepower European-spec AMG GT four-door coupe, which came stateside in 2023. The company has since added C 63 and S 63 E Performance sedans and announced the SL 63S E Performance in December. The German automaker teased a two-door AMG GT hybrid concept at last fall’s Munich IAA show, and now the real deal is here, or at least it’s official.
Redesigned last year (as a 2024 model) and unveiled at Monterey Car Week, the AMG GT coupes share their platform with the open-topped SL, but being lighter and more rigid, they’re faster and more focused sports cars. The E Performance, with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 and an electric drive unit powered by a 6.1-kWH battery pack, will be the quickest of all. According to AMG CEO Michael Schiebe, the GT 63 S E Performance will rocket to 60 mph in just 2.7 seconds and top out at 199 mph.
That’s quicker than the limited-production AMG One hypercar, which used a version of Mercedes-AMG’s actual F1 engine. The E Performance cars aren’t as literal a use of F1 tech as that, but they incorporate many lessons from AMG’s decade of hybrid track dominance. In Schiebe’s view, that makes Shanghai an ideal venue for this car’s debut.
E Performance: From Track To Street
When most people think of plug-in hybrids, gas mileage and electric range come to mind, but that’s not what the E Performance cars are about. Their main purpose is rapidly deploying, recovering, and storing energy to boost performance, just like their F1 cousins.
Every bit of energy counts on the track, and when Formula 1 mandated a new 1.6-liter hybrid powerplant format in 2014, Mercedes-AMG designed its system to capture and use every last joule. Lewis Hamilton’s W15 racer can recover energy from braking like roadgoing hybrids but also has systems to recover energy from exhaust gases, energy lost in the motion of internal engine parts, and more. The battery pack must rapidly manage that energy, requiring lots of energy flow and keeping it at a constant and ideal temperature.
Fitting street cars with all this stuff would be wildly expensive (the AMG One never had an official price, but most sources suggest it cost more than $2 Million), but AMG adapted the battery technology for the road. The GT 63 S E Performance’s pack uses 560 individual power cells with a liquid cooling system. It’s small, light, and energy-dense, with a continuous output of 94 horsepower and a peak output of 201. The V8 makes 603 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque on its own, but the combined power units at full blast put down 805 hp and 1,047 lb-ft.
When you want that maximum power in short bursts, it’ll be there, and it should be utterly seamless, almost like a fully electric vehicle. Similarly, there are multiple brake regeneration settings, including a one-pedal mode, which is unusual in a gas-powered car. Depending on the situation, the company says, over 100 kW of energy can feed back into the battery via regenerative braking.
There’s a 3.7 kW on-board AC charger and while most “charging” will be on the fly from regenerative braking, it’s still a plug-in hybrid. You can replenish it from a charging station, 240-volt wallbox or household socket. The automaker did not quote a fully electric range, but again the goal here is power, not efficiency. It’s unlikely that the GT 63S E Performance will go more than 10 to 15 miles on electricity alone.
All The Other High-Performance Mechanicals
Aside from the battery tech, the GT 63S E Performance uses many sophisticated mechanical systems. Unlike some simpler hybrids with electric motors on the back axle, the AMG GT 63S E Performance’s electric drive unit is mechanically linked to all four wheels. That allows the electric drive unit to vary power from back to front. It also has a two-speed transmission and limited-slip differential to maximize the power getting to the wheels. Within those wheels are massive carbon-ceramic brake discs, 16.5 inches up front and 15 in back.
There are eight different driving modes, which, based on experience with the SL 63 S seems like too many, but the proof will be in the pudding. Like the SL, AMG’s active ride control suspension is standard, with adaptive shock absorbers and hydraulic anti-roll bars. This sophisticated setup allows for serious handling prowess when you want fun and a boulevard-smooth ride when you’re not in the mood. The more rigid coupe body of the GT should be even more eager to play than the droptop SL. Rear wheel steering, another SL system, is also standard here.
E Performance models will also get active aerodynamic aids, with a front spoiler that lowers by 1.6 inches to reduce front-end lift. As on the SL, there’s also a retractable deck spoiler, though Mercedes-AMG said the GT 63S E Performance will get five new adjustment angles above 50 mph, with the setting depending on driving circumstances.
Inside The Redesigned Mercedes-AMG GT
Since it’s a close relative of the SL, the redesigned AMG GT coupe’s 2+2 cabin is much the same as the SL’s, but with a fixed roof. The E-Performance will have a few extra buttons and settings, and some different option choices, but the cabin isn’t much different from the other versions or the SL. That’s no bad thing, as this is a comfy and opulent place to be, with supportive seats and room even for fairly tall drivers, something not always true of cars like this.
The GT has a big advantage in practicality over the SL in that its hatchback body has a more useful cargo area, even accounting for some space taken up by the battery pack. (Exact details are still to come.) In both cars, the tiny back seat is best used for storage, but in the GT, it folds down for a much larger load space.
While Mercedes-AMG hasn’t yet offered exact details on tech features, they should be much the same as the SL’s. Both cars’ interiors use a big 11.9-inch portrait-style screen running Mercedes-Benz’s latest MBUX software.
Of course, there are many personalization options, including a set of special-order Manufaktur semi-bespoke choices like Nappa leather with diamond quilting or Nappa leather and microfiber with contrast stitching. Similar options are available for exterior paint selections and there are a gaggle of wheel options.
2025 Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance: When And How Much?
Exact pricing won’t be announced until closer to the car’s on-sale date, which probably won’t be until this fall. When the GT63 S E Performance does arrive, it seems likely to crest the $200,000 barrier. Mercedes-Benz recently announced pricing for the gas-only AMG GT55 ($136,050 including destination) and GT63 ($177,050) coupes, which are a little less expensive model-for-model than the droptop SL. Notably, pricing for the SL63 S E Performance, announced in December as a 2024 model, still hasn’t been confirmed.
If that seems like whole lot, consider that the engine alone in Hamilton’s racer probably cost more than $10 Million to build. Formula 1 is a great show, but it ain’t cheap.