Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door 2018

Say you’re a fan of the muscular-looking Mercedes-AMG GT, but it’s woefully impractical for carrying your two kids or any sort of cargo. There’s a solution now in the form of the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe.

Quite clearly a rival for the Porsche Panamera, the GT 4-Door is said to be the first “family” model from the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz, following the SLS and GT two-doors. Not that Mercedes is starved for sleek four-doors boasting huge helpings of horsepower, as the company announced the CLS 53 just last month, upon which this four-door GT is based. Yet the AMG 4-Door aims to be something more than a hotter Mercedes-Benz.

The numbers are promising. Even the “base” GT 53 comes with 429 horsepower and a 0 to 60 mph time of 4.4 seconds, thanks to the CLS’s six-cylinder gasoline engine and mild hybrid system that provides added electric “boost.” The GT 63 comes with AMG’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 and puts out 577 horsepower, with a 0–60 time of 3.3 seconds, according to the company. Step up to the GT 63 S and power increases to 630 horsepower, while the 60 mph sprint time decreases to 3.1 seconds. All models get nine-speed automatic transmissions and all-wheel drive, but US-spec 63 models offer a Drift Mode should you feel the need to take your family sideways.

Those are impressive numbers for a high-performance sports car, but the GT 4-Door is set apart from other full-blooded AMG models by offering seating for four (up to five in Europe) and a hatchback. While fixed carbon fiber-backed rear seats are available, the Executive Rear Seat package offers folding seats that also include a touchpad between those seats to control various car functions. Your kids will love that. Things aren’t exactly bleak for those up front, however, as two 12.3-inch TFT screens display both the instrument gauges and infotainment system, though not Mercedes’ latest interface.

The AMG GT 4-Door goes on sale in the US next year. On the face of it, it looks like AMG may have a real rival to Porsche’s impressive Panamera.