Mercedes-AMG unveils 1,153-hp electric SUV, 710 kW charging

Ten to eighty percent in twelve minutes. That is the figure Mercedes-AMG put at the centre of its new electric GT SUV, unveiled this October with up to 1,153 hp from three motors and DC fast charging at up to 710 kW. DC fast charging is the high-power method that feeds a battery directly, without the slower conversion of household current.

AMG, the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz, says this is the first full-size SUV it has developed entirely on its own. The GT SUV is the second vehicle built on the company's dedicated AMG.EA electric architecture, after the electric GT 4-Door Coupé, and it borrows that car's motors and battery. It is AMG's answer to the Porsche Cayenne Electric, which Porsche's Cayenne Turbo Electric version rates at 1,139 hp.

The most interesting hardware is the motor. Axial-flux motors are flat, pancake-shaped units that, according to the reporting, deliver much more power for their weight than the radial-flux motors in most EVs. Mercedes bought the UK axial-flux specialist YASA in 2021, and the technology already appears in the AMG CLA 45. The GT 63 and GT 55 carry a 128 kWh usable pack built from tall, narrow cylindrical cells with silicon in the anode, cooled by immersion in non-conductive oil. Mercedes claims more than 298 Wh/kg at cell level. Those figures are the company's own, and no independent test has been cited yet.

The performance numbers are impressive but estimated. Mercedes gives the GT 63 a 0-60 mph time of 2.6 seconds, or 2.4 with a one-foot rollout, and the Cayenne Turbo Electric also makes 2.4 seconds. The SUV weighs 2,695 kg, and the 1,153 hp is a peak figure; continuous output is 711 hp. Range is quoted on the WLTP test cycle, a laboratory standard, at 620 to 700 km for the GT 63 and GT 55. US EPA figures, which are usually lower, are not yet published.

Who gains, and when? US buyers would get the car first, with deliveries starting in summer 2027. Their practical benefit depends on the charging network, not on the car's rating: Mercedes lists the North American NACS plug among the five standards the GT SUV supports, so Tesla Supercharger access should not be a problem. But charging near 710 kW will not be possible until stations of that rating exist, and the Cayenne's 400 kW rating matches what most US chargers offer today. Electrek's commentary calls the GT SUV a halo product in a small market of $150,000-plus electric SUVs. Mercedes has not announced the GT SUV's price, so buyers cannot yet weigh it against Porsche's $163,000 Cayenne Turbo Electric.