Mercedes-AMG GT XX Concept Will Challenge The Porsche Taycan

• The close-to-production concept previewing AMG’s Porsche Taycan rival has been revealed.
• It has a brand new AMG-specific EV platform, three motors and a retro-futuristic design.
• AMG is pairing its bonkers performance with a simulated V8 and gear shifts.

Mercedes-AMG wants to upend the performance electric sedan segment with a new fastback that packs up to 1,341 horsepower and can hit 223 mph (358 km/h). It will be the first vehicle built on the AMG Electric Architecture (AMG.EA) previewed by the Concept AMG GT XX study, which looks almost production-ready.

The GT XX concept is the clearest vision yet of how AMG plans to go electric: fast, loud and sideways in a plume of tire smoke. It’s not groundbreaking by Chinese or Lucid standards, but it’s still an impressive technical achievement that promises to be more than the sum of its parts and deliver a truly exhilarating drive, which is what everybody expects from an AMG, regardless of what powers it.

Motivating the GT XX is a trio of electric motors: one powers the front axle, and it features two drive units in the back, one for each wheel, allowing for precise torque vectoring, akin to a limited-slip differential cranked up to eleven. Mercedes claims the axial flux motors used in this EV have around three times the power density compared to a radial electric motor.

The AMG.EA architecture runs at 800 volts, allowing for bonkers charging speeds, almost matching the best that China has to offer. We don’t know if this is representative of the production model—it probably is—but the concept can juice up at an average of 850 kilowatts with a power flow of 1,000 amps, with a peak approaching 1 MW, which is enough to add 248 miles (400 km) of WLTP range in around 5 minutes. This is BYD-level insane.

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Source: Mercedes-AMG

Mercedes states that the very high charging power is possible thanks to an NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum) battery pack comprised of over 3,000 cylindrical cells with an energy density of 740 Wh/l, which for the whole pack is 300 Wh/l. This battery pack is specific to the concept. This is an engineering flex, and it’s unclear if the production car will have it.

It will likely get the intelligent cell cooling technology that’s in the concept. Each cell is individually cooled using a special non-conductive oil, and it also allows the battery pack to be brought up to temperature quickly through preconditioning to prepare it for DC fast charging.

The manufacturer doesn’t quote a 0 to 60 mph time for the concept, but let’s not kid ourselves: this is a two-second car. It is able to achieve such a high top speed not only courtesy of the power but also thanks to its body that’s slipperier than a bar of soap with a drag coefficient of just 0.198.

The impressive aero comes thanks to the low-slung shape of the vehicle, but also through an active front grille with louvers that open and close depending on cooling needs. Mercedes says they don’t just have an open or closed position and they open in “multiple stages.”

The exterior design will likely remain essentially unchanged for production. It looks retro-futuristic with its oversized grille, shark nose design and three-circle rear lights. The shape of the headlights is similar to what you might see on an AMG GT coupe model, and it looks very sporty overall.

The side profile is typical of a four-door coupe, with a roofline that slopes aggressively toward the rear. Like the Polestar 5, the car is missing rear glass, which is why it also lacks an interior rear-view mirror.

The cabin feels concept-car crazy with a heatsink-inspired center console surrounded by orange glowing piping. The design of the center console, dashboard and door cards will likely change for production, but the two-screen setup and the yoke steering wheel are likely production-intent.

Mercedes-AMG GT XX Concept

Photo by: Mercedes-AMG

As we predicted from the recent AMG teaser, AMG’s not giving up on driving drama, even in an EV. The car has paddles on the steering wheel marked “Up” and “Down.” You will be able to shift simulated gears in this car, accompanied by a V8 sound inside (and possibly outside as well). Fake? Sure, but it’s probably going to be a lot of fun, and we won’t knock it until we try it since it may pleasantly surprise us like it did in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.

The production version of the AMG GT XX could land later this year or in 2026, when the model is also expected to go on sale, followed soon after by a higher-riding sibling. The crossover will have the same guts and firepower but in a taller, chunkier package.