If I Were a Rich Man: The 2026 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance

So you want a luxury sedan and a ferocious performance monster. Those two can be mutually exclusive.

Key phrase: Can be.

They can also co-exist within one vehicle.

The 2026 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance is both Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde, with a personality that is not so much split but configurable---literally at the turn (several turns, really) of a knob.

This small knob on the lower right of the steering wheel hub has multiple settings. "E" for "Electric" gives you silent running, "C" (for "Comfort") brings you a luxury-car level of smooth but a satisfying engine rumble, and then dialing up through "S" ("Sport"), "S+" ("Sport Plus") and "R" ("RACE"---the all-caps is Mercedes') adds a stiffer suspension, sharper steering and a ferocious bellow from the engine room.

There is a LOT going on under the hood. There you will find a handcrafted 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine with a "permanently excited" synchronous electric motor. Altogether, the output is 831 horsepower and 1,032 (not a typo---one thousand and thirty-two) pound-feet of torque.

It is the most powerful production vehicle from AMG. Zero to 60 takes 2.8 seconds and top speed is an electronically-limited 197 miles per hour.

The transmission is an AMG SPEEDSHIFT 9-speed, there's an AMG Performance 4MATIC all-wheel drive system, along with AMG Ride Control+, an AMG high performance ceramic composite braking system, an AMG electronic limited-slip rear differential, and an AMG performance exhaust system.

Mercedes doesn't use the phrase, but this is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). You can recharge via revs from the gasoline engine, but you can also plug in to a level 2 charger for a recharge of the 6.1 kWh battery that powers the electric motor. Mercedes says two hours will take you from a 25% state of charge (SOC) to 100%.

Beyond the added power of the electric motor, plugging in and having a full charge improves fuel economy. This is not a PHEV with a strong all-electric range (the EPA says you can go all of one mile on pure electric power), but the gasoline-only 18 mpg combined city/highway bumps up to 28 MPGe when you use all the electric capability built into the GT 63 S E Performance.

Trunk capacity? Small. 11.8 cubic feet.

Rear seat headroom? About 2.5 inchess less than the folks in the front. And Mercedes shows rear seat legroom as "TBA".

Up front? Well, it's the lap of luxury, with the highest quality of materials and workmanship and supportive but not punishing sport seats. The base price of the 2026 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance is $200,500---$201,750 with destination. That money buys a comprehensive batch of standard equipment (see the window sticker at the end of the review).

This one had more than a little in the way of extra-cost options---$32,160 worth, in fact. The MANUFAKTUR Copper Orange Magno paint was $6,500, the MANUFAKTUR Neva Grey/Black exclusive Nappa leather upholstery was $3,650, the AMG carbon fiber trim added $2,850.

Then there was the Executive Rear Seat Package ($3,350), the 21-inch AMG forged black cross-spoke wheels ($3,300), the AMG Aerodynamics Package ($2,850), AMG performance seats ($2,500), the fixed panorama roof ($2,100), the driver assistance package ($1,700), the head-up display with AMG specific content ($1,100), the acoustic comfort package ($1,100), multicontour functionality for AMG Performance seats ($700), Air Balance ($350), and an AMG fuel cap ($110).

The breathtaking bottom line on the window sticker---$233,910.

Yes, that's $16,090 shy of a quarter-million dollars, and no, you can't really assess whether something that expensive is "worth it" unless you can afford it and I'm not that guy. But I will say that there are few cars that can cover the spectrum of luxury and performance the way the 2026 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S does, and that's something no one should undervalue.

2026 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance at a glance:

Price: $200,500 base/$233,910 as tested

Engine: 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with permanently excited electric motor

Horsepower: 832

Torque: 1,032 lb-ft

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Curb Weight: 4,497 lbs

0-60 Acceleration (manufacturer data): 2.8 seconds

EPA Fuel Economy Estimate: 18 mpg combined (gasoline only)/28 MPGe

Fuel tank capacity: 21.1 gallons

EPA Range Estimate: 360 miles

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