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When the new AMG GT debuted last week, Mercedes-Benz U.S.A. listed the sports-coupe’s weight figure as “to be announced.” The new car comes standard with all-wheel drive and shares its chassis with the new SL, which makes it large enough to offer optional rear seats. Naturally, weight has gone up. We noticed on Mercedes’ global press release that the new GT has a claimed curb weight of 4343 pounds.
Now, the old GT was not a light car, with the base coupe weighing in at 3560 pounds. Mercedes quotes 4343 pounds for both the new GT 55 and GT 63, which means the base coupe model is a solid 783 pounds heavier than its predecessor. It’s also nearly 900 pounds heavier than its closest rival, the 3460-pound Porsche 911 Carrera 4. The new GT 63 is also over 800 pounds heavier than its most obvious rival, the 911 Carrera 4 GTS, which weighs in at 3536 pounds.
Of course, the new GT is a more luxurious car than its predecessor, sharing its interior with the new SL. Plus, the GT comes standard with a McLaren-esque hydraulic anti-roll system that should help keep the weight in check.
Almost all new cars these days are heavier than their predecessors, and that isn’t necessarily a detriment to how they drive. BMW’s new M2, for example, weighs 3814 pounds, making it around 200 pounds heavier than the M2 Competition and nearly 400 pounds heavier than the original 2016 M2. Yet, the new M2 shrugs off its weight very easily. Still, it’s disappointing to see AMG’s flagship sports car get so much heavier. Especially when a 911 is plenty luxurious and offers back seats while weighing hundreds of pounds less. (Or in the case of the GT 55 vs the 911 Carrera 4, nearly 1000 pounds less.) This also comes soon after the Mercedes-AMG C 63 gained over 650 pounds in the transition to hybrid power, coming in at 4654 pounds.
The new GT also loses a lot of the neat features that made the old model compelling. It ditches the original GT’s dry-sump lubrication—which facilitated mounting the engine very low in the chassis—and rear transaxle gearbox, which improved weight distribution. To be fair, the original GT didn’t sell well, so you can hardly blame Mercedes for mixing up the formula a bit to justify the continued production of a two-door sports car. Perhaps something that’s more grand-tourer than sports car may sell better, but in the inevitable comparison with the 911, on paper, it seems like the new AMG GT is going to have a hard time.
Senior Reporter
A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins is Road & Track’s engineering nerd and Porsche apologist. He joined the staff in 2016 and no one has figured out a way to fire him since. He street-parks a Porsche Boxster in Brooklyn, New York, much to the horror of everyone who sees the car, not least the author himself. He also insists he’s not a convertible person, despite owning three.
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