Mercedes secretly brought a near-production prototype of the second-generation AMG GT Coupe at last weekend’s 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Wearing a colorful disguise, Affalterbach’s Porsche 911 rival drove up the famous hill and let its tail loose in one of the corners, helped by the damp surface. In an attempt to please the crowds, the driver performed a few donuts but the last one didn’t exactly go as planned.
The new two-door AMG GT went slightly off-road by going up the grass embankment and gently touching the hay. It doesn’t look like the car suffered any serious damage, although the front diffuser might’ve been bruised a bit. Prototypes have a tragic ending anyway since most of them face the crusher, except for the ones the automakers decide to save for posterity.
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Judging by the design of the quad exhaust tips, this AMG GT Coupe appears to be a top-tier “63” model since the lesser “53” and “43” cars have round tips. While plug-in hybrid prototypes have been spotted already, this car doesn’t have an electrified powertrain since it’s missing the charging port on the rear bumper. It definitely sounds like a V8 is underneath that long hood, and we can hear our fair share of pops and bangs.
Underneath the colorful livery is seemingly the full production body with the final lights and all. It’s already looking quite sleek, which is hardly a surprise since the new GT is expected to look like a coupe-ified SL. The two cars were jointly developed by AMG and should have largely the same hardware, although the GT is going to be the sportier one whereas the SL is more of a luxury tourer.
Mercedes has already revealed the new AMG GT behind closed doors to those who paid €450 to attend the AMG GT Live Sneak Preview in Affalterbach. Organized in groups of no more than 24 people, the event took place between July 10 and 13, ahead of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Attenedees also had the opportunity to see the factory where the magic happens and get behind the wheel of the SL 63, C63 S E Performance, and the fully electric EQE 53.
The company with the three-pointed star logo still hasn’t announced when the world premiere is scheduled to take place. Considering some have already seen the car and there was this prototype at Goodwood, surely the public debut is happening soon, presumably in a matter of weeks. The online premiere is likely to be followed by a proper debut in early September at the IAA Munich in Germany. Perhaps we’ll also see it later that month at the 2023 NAIAS in Detroit.