Details of the upcoming 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT 73e 4MATIC EQ Power+ 4-Door Coupe are firming up that reveal it will produce an incredible 600kW and 1000Nm of torque when it arrives later this year.
According to Autocar, the powerful new Mercedes-AMG GT 73e will comfortably destroy the 0-100km/h sprint in less than 3.0 seconds, with the all-wheel drive Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid rival only running out of puff as speeds approach well north of 330km/h.
Set to be the first vehicle in the Mercedes-Benz line-up to use its 'P3' plug-in hybrid tech, the GT 73e gains an electric motor that is integrated within the rear axle that's combined with a heavily revised version of the same twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 used in the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S.
Unlike existing Benz plug-in hybrid powertrains, the GT 73e rear electric motor can offer direct drive to the rear wheels in pure-electric mode, allowing a far larger electric motor to be used that can also employ torque vectoring.
The fact the rear motor doesn't have to channel its power via the Benz's nine-speed automatic and all-wheel drive system means that AMG engineers have not been torque-restricted by the limitations of the hardware available, allowing a larger, torquier electric motor to be used.
The same big motor also claws back energy under braking, boosting efficiency by feeding current to a new liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery that's packaged under the boot floor.
It's not yet known how energy-dense the new battery is, but the flagship AMG Benz is set to offer a pure-electric range of between 50-100km.
Launch timing is still to be confirmed, but the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT 73e is set to land before the end of the year with pricing likely to match the plug-in Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid at about $420,000.