Mercedes AMG GT teased, plus interior revealed

Boss of AMG reveals first teaser picture of the Mercedes AMG GT’s exterior at presentation in New York

There was one more surprise in store for fans of the new Mercedes AMG GT supercar at a private event the night before the New York Motor Show. As well as revealing official pictures of the interior (below) for the first time, confirming the name and revealing that the car will make its full debut in September – AMG Boss Tobias Moers also flashed up a line drawing of the car’s exterior during his presentation.

We already have a good idea of the car’s silhouette from numerous spy pictures of the car, but this official sketch depicts perfectly the Porsche 911-style rear (the car predicted to be its closest rival) that flows seamlessly from the highest point of the roof into the curve of the boot lid.

Long, horizontal taillights, an upswept crease along the flanks and long bonnet stretching out in front of the driver can all be seen. It was something we were already certain about, but Moers also confirmed that the AMG GT will be powered by a V8 engine – expected to be a new 4.0-litre twin-turbo unit with up to 500bhp.

AMG as a brand is currently going from strength to strength. Global sale in 2013 totalled 32,200 cars – a record for AMG – and things are looking rosy for 2014, too. In the first quarter of the year, sales are up by 50 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.

Mercedes AMG GT interior

Still, there is plenty to get excited about on the inside of the new Porsche 911 rival. The luxurious cabin clearly takes some inspiration from the S-Class, with a tablet-style display, a bank of classy air-vents in the dash and a powerful Burmester stereo visible in the doors – but there are some great sporty touches that make it worthy of the huge AMG badge embossed on the leather armrest.

Figure-hugging sports seats and an Alcantara trimmed flat-bottomed steering wheel both set the racy tone, and the wide centre console has four banks of individual switches for adjusting the suspension, ESP, sports exhausts and gearbox seetings - and there is an enticing dial with ‘race’ written on it too.

A spokesman for the brand told Auto Express that there will be no option of a manual gearbox – but could not confirm if the AMG GT would use the seven-speed automatic from the current range or the newly developed nine-speed box.

Two-tone leather across the dash and doors completes the racy look, and there is real carbon fibre on the gear surrounds, vents and door panels as well. Just above the metal gear selector is a touch pad control and track wheel for the infotainment system, which made its debut on the new C-Class.

In practice, we found the touch pad a bit tricky and distracting to use on the road, but hopefully Mercedes can tweak the software before the GT is launched this autumn to improve its responses and usability.

The centre console is designed to mimic a V8's two banks of cylinders, while the switched for the sat-nav and heating controls are, unusually, placed in the roof lining above the driver's head. 

Under the bonnet is a new 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo engine that’s expected to produce around 475bhp will power the AMG GT – but we’ll have to wait until the Paris motor show in September to see the rest of the car – and it’s performance figures as it goes toe-to-toe with the Porsche 911, Jaguar F-Type and Lexus RC-F.