Test Driving The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE: 805 Horsepower

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Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE is a gas-electric hybrid Super GT that has one of the best and most complex elevator stories of 2025 and ‘26. At the top of the list is the combined gasoline-electric power of 805 horsepower. Most important is the combined torque figure of…1047 lb.-ft. in Sport+ and RACE modes.

Mark Ewing

AMG’s GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE has a touch over 800 horsepower and no less than 1047 lb.-ft. of torque, yet this superbly sorted hybrid Gran Turismo doesn’t fall into the category of too much is just barely enough. GT 63 S E never forgets that it’s also a Mercedes.

GT 63 S E delivers an emotional, visceral experience while remaining coolly cerebral, even with so much power on tap. Dial up Comfort mode, and one can toddle over to the golf club or the school drop-off line with the Tiger Moms and never realize 63 S E’s outrageous potential, such is its measure of civility.

Dial up Sport+ or RACE mode, put the hammer down and GT 63 S E feeds power and torque into its all-wheel drive system. Electric torque is transferred to the front wheels if the enormous rear tires lose the slightest traction. AMG’s all-wheel drive is ruthlessly efficient.

GT 63 S E launches like all such cars of our era with computer-controlled traction and stability control. Press your head firmly back, draw a breath to resist the sense of compression on the chest, tighten the abdominal wall, then floor the throttle and sidestep the brake—let it rip.

To use the phrase, 63 S E accelerates at an accelerating pace, or at least that’s how it feels because there is no relenting, no mercy. In Sport+ or RACE mode, you unleash Hell.

GT 63 S E will rocket to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds. I counted it off in my head while performing the deed on carefully chosen cliffhanging 2-lanes and have no doubt about the figure. Better still, it puts down power with style exiting corners, the car delivering information about just what the powertrain is doing. GT 63 S E has that sensibility of being alive.

Because 63 S E has a V8 with the turbos placed up top in the Vee, the package dimensions are essentially a cube. Which means that even if the hood seems long in photos, it really isn’t. The motor/gearbox/battery is a single package placed on the rear axle and does not adversely impact cargo space, ample enough for a long weekend away. This motor/gearbox/battery is essentially the same one used in the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E I drove about a year ago.

Unlike V12 front-engine cars that require the driver mentally adapt to the length of the hood, on the hunt in GT 63 S E the driver knows instinctively where the front wheels are, where the corners of the car are. In just a few miles the car feels wieldy, breeding confidence. Even those with limited sports car and GT experience can acclimate quickly, understanding the car’s dimensions on an unforced subconscious level. Like any of the best GTs, the car melds with the driver.

Cabin architecture is a smart 21st Century interpretation of the tidy cockpits of Golden Era Gran Turismos from the 1950s and ‘60s. Thanks to the relatively steep windshield, tall side glass and reasonable view to the rear three-quarters, the cabin has the sensibilities of a tiny private jet aircraft. I’m 6 foot 2+. Climbing in, I had to dip my head to clear the top of the doorframe, but once in, headroom under the panorama glass roof is ample by GT standards.

With seat adjusted all the way back while maintaining comfortable seatback rake, my arms were at near full extension, just short of elbow lock, and my Hamilton tux shirt’s sleeve is a 36. Just enough room for that quarterback who has signed his contract extension. Unlike in many mid-engine cars that have tight footwells due to the wheelarches crowding in, GT 63 S E accommodated my size 13s, with ample room to relax ankles while driving on open highway.

Under deceleration, the singing of the electric motor recuperating energy is heard by sensitive ears. It’s nothing like the sharp machine-tool sounds of a Le Mans hybrid race car. The electric motor’s song is subtle. On the go, honestly, you don’t notice or pay attention. Call it a subtle reminder that there is an electric motor, 2-speed gearbox and battery pack on the rear axle line. Predominant sounds are the rich burbly exhaust that turns sharp with deep throttle application, and the upper intake symphony of that glorious hand-assembled V8.

Switch from Comfort calibration to Sport or Sport+ while driving and the change in the weight and action of the steering is immediate, as if the steering system’s “flexors and extensors” are juiced up like when you’re placing a secure grasp on a barbell. The steering feels meatier, weightier, more responsive. Most corners are accomplished with little more than a flick.

Every great car earns a nickname, and this one became known as Jochen, in honor of the late, great Jochen Maas, the bon vivant merry prankster who piloted a Sauber-Mercedes Silver Arrow to victory at Le Mans in 1989. Jochen’s fine drive at the Sarthe stands resolutely as an early mile marker for Mercedes’ renewed embrace of high-performance and racing. From Jochen’s glorious victory came a string of Formula One world championships, Indy 500 victories, and the absorption of the AMG tuning house into Mercedes-Benz to become the powerhouse it is today. So yeah, Jochen is a fine nickname for any AMG 4-wheeled missile.