There’s Now A Four-Pot Mercedes-AMG GT, And It’s Slower Than An A45

Yes, you’ve read correctly. Mercedes-AMG’s range-topping sports car, one much-loved for its traditional V8 power, is now being offered with a four-cylinder engine. If you listen carefully, you may well hear the angry typing of membrane keyboards across the world.

This isn’t the most shocking news. After all, the Mercedes-AMG SL43 - which the AMG GT shares a platform with these days - is already being offered with the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-pot. We drove that car last year and found it’s better than you might expect. Still, the idea of Mercedes’ range-topping sports car and key Porsche 911 rival switching to four-cylinder power is going to be a hard sell on the face of it.

Perhaps even more so when the power figures match that of a hatchback. Granted, that hatchback is an A45 S - meaning the AMG GT43 comes with 415bhp and 369lb ft of torque. It’s actually slower than the hatchback too, managing the 0-62mph sprint in 4.6 seconds - meanwhile, the A45 S will sort that in 3.9 seconds thanks to the joys of all-wheel drive traction off the line. 

The good news is that’s because the GT43 is rear-driven, being the only model in the range not to come with both ends of the car powered. It retains the nine-speed automatic gearbox you’ll find in the rest of the range.

It should also weigh somewhat less than the 1,970kg of the GT63 considering it’s shedding four cylinders and half of its drivetrain. We’re yet to see a published figure, but we do know that the SL43 is 140kg lighter than its V8 AWD siblings.

Mercedes-AMG has toned the styling of the GT43 down to make it clear that this is indeed the entry model too. It gets less aggressive bumpers, has narrower wheel arches (although the fronts have gained fake vents, for some reason) and does without the option of a fixed wing.

We’re yet to hear pricing for the Mercedes-AMG GT43, but Mercedes has confirmed it won't be coming to the UK, where the car will remain V8-only.