► Four-door hybrid performance car
► Likely basis for production model
► 0-62mph in ‘less than three seconds’
The badge ‘EQ Power+’ is one you’re going to need to get very familiar with. It denotes Affalterbach’s forthcoming performance hybrid models, and appears on this four-door Mercedes-AMG GT Concept unveiled at the 2017 Geneva motor show.
After its F1 cars, this is the only other model currently wearing the moniker, but as a design study it’s so well-rounded that it’s almost impossible to ignore the prospect that it’ll hit the roads at some point in the near future – and it’ll do so in near-silence if the car’s whispering entrance onto the show stand was anything to go by.
Built as a celebration of AMG’s half-century history, Mercedes says itself that ‘the show car gives a sneak preview of the exterior design of the coming series production model’.
Pretty unequivocal there, then.
What does F1 tech for the road look like, then?
Exciting. In this case the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 we know and love from the two-seater AMG GT has been bolted to an electric motor fed by new scalable batteries that can be charged either through braking or using the engine.
The system’s total power output is a generous 805bhp. Using the 4Matic+ all-wheel drive system to channel that performance to the tyres, a claimed 0-62mph sprint in ‘less than three seconds’ is the result. It can run in pure EV mode, pure internal-combustion configuration or automatically switch between the two accordingly.
The chassis also gets torque-vectoring on all four wheels and a further electronic boost that can be sent directly to the rear wheels from the electric motor, which presumably could be deployed in an F1-style KERS-type function.
What else is on the 2017 Mercedes-AMG GT Concept?
Loads of clever concept car bits. The day running lights are 3D light ‘cords’ that can be freely styled, while the exterior mirrors on the car are replaced by cameras.
There are active shutter panels in the grille and side intakes to direct cooling air to crucial points, and that Hot Red paintjob’s pretty spectacular, with a ‘special formulation’ that helps it to shimmer in the light like liquid metal.
And thanks to the car’s lightweight modular battery configuration, there’s even what looks like ample room for four adults and a usefully large boot.
“The GT Concept embodies the most extreme expression of our design idiom and underlines anew the autonomous profile of AMG as a performance brand”, said Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer Daimler AG. “Through perfect proportions it creates a puristic design with the emphasis on its surfaces, featuring sensuous shapes and is hot and cool at the same time.”