AMG GT63 S Leaves Massive Mark on the Record Books in Virginia
AMG’s newest four-door bests BMW with 2:49.3 time around Virginia International Raceway at Car and Driver‘s Lightning Lap.
The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door takes all that makes the AMG GT great—the 4.0-liter Biturbo V8, Speedshift dual-clutch automatic, excellent handling — and repackages the experience into a four-door coupe for all of your friends and family to enjoy around the track.
Speaking of tracks, AMG sent a GT63 S to Car and Driver to participate in the magazine’s 13th annual Lightning Lap extravaganza at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, hanging out with cars from BMW, Lamborghini, and Porsche on the circuit’s Grand West Course configuration. And since the goal of the Lightning Lap is to “break records,” the big AMG was more than capable of meeting the challenge.
The GT63 S made use of its 630 horses to swing its 4,628-pound frame around the corners of VIR to deliver an astounding single-lap time of 2:49.3. The time places the big four-door coupe in 26th place out of the 263 vehicles to ever make a turn on the circuit over the 13 years of the magazine’s yearly challenge.
Just how lucky was the 13th Car and Driver Lightning Lap for the GT63 S, through? It beat the 2012 Ferrari 458 Italia’s time of 2:49.9, set during the 2013 edition, with the company’s engineer giving the pub Ferrari’s blessing to crash and burn if it meant setting a good time in so doing. It also beat the 2019 BMW M5 Competition at this year’s gathering, which crossed the line at 2:54.0 despite weighing 387 pounds less than the AMG.
Other cars the GT63 S beat around the track include the 2015 Nissan GT-R NISMO (2:49.4), 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (2:50.1), and the 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S (2:51.0). Not a bad way to be, indeed.
Of course, 26th place is pretty far from the top of the pack. The highest-placing Mercedes-AMG to date is the AMG GT-R, which laid down a time of 2:43.4 back in 2017. That car is currently in ninth place, behind the likes of the 2019 Porsche 911 GT3RS, and the new No. 1, the McLaren Senna.
Then again, those cars only have room for two, while the big GT 4-Door has room for your family. In fact, it is the highest-placing four-door coupe or sedan on the overall list. Now that would make anyone keep their heads held high.
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