Mercedes-AMG gives its electric GT a ‘race engineer’ you control

The new, electric Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe offers drivers a way to change how eagerly it turns into corners, alongside separate controls for accelerator response and wheelspin.

Available for the GT55 and GT63, the AMG Race Engineer system combines a central vehicle-control computer with three rotary dials on the centre console: Response Control, Agility Control, and Traction Control.

At the car’s launch in Spain, attended by CarExpert, Mercedes-AMG product manager Oliver Ganzmann compared the agility adjustment with changing the sensation of the car’s wheelbase.

“So, think about a car that can simulate like a shorter or longer wheelbase. So if you turn up the agility, the car tends to feel like a car with shorter wheelbase, more agile.

“Or you turn back the agility, you have more a more stable car, which feels like you would probably have a longer wheelbase car.”

The effect comes from adjusting torque distribution to alter how the car rotates through a corner. AMG says drivers can select behaviour ranging from slight understeer through to neutral handling or controlled oversteer.

Response Control changes how the motors react to accelerator inputs, while Traction Control offers nine levels of intervention.

The individual agility and traction settings are available in Sport, Sport+, and Race modes with electronic stability control switched off. Accelerator-response adjustment remains available with stability control on.

In the GT63, the system has up to 860kW of power and 2000Nm of torque to manage. Both it and the 600kW GT55 have three electric motors, with one at the front and two at the rear.

The rear motors share a housing but operate independently, allowing drive torque to be distributed individually between the rear wheels.

Showing CarExpert the chassis in Spain, René Szczepek, who oversees driving dynamics simulation and integration at Mercedes-AMG, explained the mechanical requirements for controlling that power.

“So we always are aware that we have a very, very good like base chassis because you need to have a very, very stable and stiff and driving dynamic-oriented base chassis to add an amount of torque vectoring and all the magic which is happening like software-wise in that thing."

The AMG Active Ride Control suspension uses hydraulically linked dampers in place of conventional anti-roll bars. Three-chamber air springs allow the spring rate to change, while the hydraulic system controls body roll.

Mr Szczepek said the rear motor mountings also had to isolate noise without making the car feel unnatural when turning.

“It always has to be in a phase, so that means like if you steer in, the car just should rotate very naturally, very linear, and you could feel if there would be a mistake and we did something wrong.”

AMG developed the control software in-house. Alongside the driving systems, it manages regenerative braking, energy use, charging, and temperature control.

The work follows the changes Mr Szczepek described to CarExpert in a 2022 interview about developing the hybrid C63 S E Performance. That project required engine, battery, and electric-motor engineers to work more closely together.

“We not only had to develop the car, [but] we needed to transform the company,” he said at the time.

Mercedes-AMG’s German ordering information lists the Race Engineer control unit within an optional AMG Dynamic Plus Package, alongside Active Ride Control suspension, Race mode, and the Track Pace data-recording system. Australian specs are likely to include it as standard.

MORE: Explore the Mercedes-AMG GT showroom