Mercedes-AMG just took the wraps off the GT SUV, its first big electric SUV, and the horsepower figure is absurd: up to 1,153 hp. But that’s not the number we keep staring at. It’s the charging rate. This thing is rated to pull 710 kW from a DC fast charger, which is more than any legacy automaker has put in a production SUV so far!
It’s aimed squarely at Porsche’s Cayenne Electric, and it reaches US dealers in summer 2027.
The quick version
- Power: up to 1,153 hp from three axial-flux motors
- 0 to 60 mph: 2.6 seconds, or 2.4 with a one-foot rollout (Mercedes estimate)
- Battery: 128 kWh usable, 800 volts
- Charging: up to 710 kW, 10 to 80% in about 12 minutes
- Range: 385 to 435 miles on the European WLTP cycle (EPA numbers will be lower)
- Price: not announced yet
Three flavors, all of them quick
AMG has spent decades tuning Mercedes SUVs, but this is the first full-size one it developed entirely on its own. It rides on the dedicated AMG.EA electric platform, the same bones as this year’s electric GT 4-Door Coupé. The US gets three versions:
| GT 63 | GT 55 | GT 53 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak power | 1,153 hp | 805 hp | 536 hp |
| Motors | 3, axial flux | 3, axial flux | 2, conventional |
| 0 to 60 mph | 2.6 s | 3.0 s | 4.1 s |
| Battery (usable) | 128 kWh | 128 kWh | 106 kWh |
| Peak DC charging | 710 kW | 710 kW | 600 kW |
| WLTP range | 385 to 435 mi | 385 to 435 mi | 371 to 415 mi |
Pancake motors, explained in one breath
Most EVs use radial-flux motors, shaped like a soup can. Axial-flux motors are flat discs, more like a stack of dinner plates, and they make far more power for their weight. Mercedes bought YASA, a British specialist in exactly this kind of motor, back in 2021. The GT 63 and GT 55 each carry three of them, which is how a nearly 6,000-pound SUV ends up quicker than most supercars.
The 710 kW question
Here’s the fun part and the catch, all at once. At full tilt, Mercedes says the big-battery versions can add roughly 280 miles of WLTP range in ten minutes. That’s a coffee stop, not a lunch break.
The trouble is the chargers. The fastest public stations going into the US today top out around 400 kW, and higher-power units are still on the way. The GT SUV supports NACS, so Tesla Superchargers are on the table, but nobody in America will see 710 kW for a while. For now, owners are buying headroom for the network of the future. That’s a very Electric Future problem to have, and we kind of love it.
Yes, it fakes a V8
In its sportiest mode, the GT 63 and GT 55 play back recorded V8 sounds, complete with virtual gearshifts you can fire off with the paddles. The GT 53 gets a six-cylinder soundtrack. If that makes you wince, there’s a Silent setting. Other highlights: up to 6 degrees of rear-wheel steering as standard, active hydraulic anti-roll control on the GT 63, a 14-inch center screen with an optional passenger display, and a frunk small enough to hold your charging cable and not much else.
AMG vs. Porsche, by the numbers
| Mercedes-AMG GT 63 SUV | Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric | |
|---|---|---|
| Peak power | 1,153 hp | 1,139 hp |
| 0 to 60 mph (1-ft rollout) | 2.4 s (est.) | 2.4 s |
| Top speed | 168 mph | 162 mph |
| Battery | 128 kWh usable | 113 kWh |
| Peak DC charging | 710 kW | 400 kW |
| 10 to 80% | 12 min | under 16 min |
| US price | TBA | $163,000 |
Off the line it’s a dead heat. On the plug, Mercedes wins by a mile.
Our take
Every flagship EV now does 0 to 60 in the two-second range, so launch times have stopped meaning much. What actually changes life with an EV is how much battery you carry and how fast you can refill it, and on both counts this is the most serious electric Mercedes yet. It will be expensive, it will be heavy, and most buyers will never plug it into a charger that can keep up with it. Still, it shows where fast charging is heading, and that’s worth paying attention to even if you’re shopping for something a fraction of the price.
Curious how its range will stack up once the EPA weighs in? Keep an eye on our EV Range Chart, and see what’s arriving sooner in our roundup of every new EV reaching the US this fall. Want another luxury debut? Read about Bentley’s first EV, the Torcal.
Specs and photos from Mercedes-Benz, first reported by Electrek.
