2018 Geneva Motor Show: Is this Mercedes-AMG’s four-door show stealer?

WHAT’S believed to be the production skin of the four-door Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe has leaked online ahead of its official Geneva motor show reveal this week.

The German car maker has extensively teased its Porsche Panamera rival in a number of releases in the lead-up to this week’s reveal, but this is the first time we’ve seen the car without its customary disguise.

The single, grainy image posted to Polish car website Autoblog.rs is very close in form to the concept car unveiled at last year’s Geneva motor show, with the obvious difference being the door skin-mounted side mirrors that replace the concept’s cameras. The production car appears to wear gold brake calipers similar to some versions of the Mercedes-AMG GT two-door.

The as-yet unnamed GT four-door shares its underpinnings with the E-Class, so is likely to borrow its 450kW 4.0-litre V8. In hybrid form, this model could also introduce the badge of the brand’s electrified sub-brand, EQ. The production car should also vary from its two-door sibling by using a conventional nine-speed automatic transmission instead of the coupe’s transaxle, all in the interest of opening up rear-seat passenger space, and all-wheel drive.

A plug-in hybrid model is anticipated, offering up to 40km of all-electric range.

Believed to be based on a version of Benz’s MRA architecture rather than the AMG GT’s bespoke chassis (which puts the engine behind the front axle and the gearbox between the rear wheels), the production version of the GT Concept will face off against the Porsche Panamera and Tesla Model S when it arrives in overseas showrooms late this year.

The Mercedes-AMG GT four-door is expected to make its debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, which starts on March 6.

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