With the debut of the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe at last week’s Geneva Motor Show, it’s only natural to wonder what else is in the pipeline for the Mercedes performance sub-brand. In the current climate, some kind of bespoke, high-performance SUV—an “AMG GLT”, if you will—might seem like the obvious next step. Well, it’s a good thing you and I don’t run Mercedes-AMG because according to company CEO Tobias Moers, an AMG-made crossover wouldn’t be a good idea at all.
In an interview with Australia’s CarAdvice, Moers ruled out the prospect of a big, fast crossover made by AMG in-house, saying such a car would cannibalize sales from AMG-tuned versions of existing Mercedes off-roaders.
“Regarding SUVs, we have a broad portfolio within Mercedes we do derivatives of,” said the AMG boss. “We have to consider we have an overall business responsibility in Mercedes and AMG in common. If you would do some dedicated AMG kind of car, there would be a big piece of cake we would be wanting that would be substituted. So from an overall business approach, there is no sense to it.”
Speaking on the 4-Door Coupe’s financial viability, Moers says the new slopey-sedan fills a niche his company was apparently missing: a Porsche Panamera competitor. “That car was kind of a white spot in our portfolio,” Moers told the Australian publication. “What we saw there was a missing link, we lost customers. They drove C or E 63s and were looking for the next level, and we didn’t have it.” Which is strange because if you ask me, the CLS already filled that spot pretty well. We’ve reached out to Mercedes for additional input on this and will update this story if we hear back.
Anywho, if you were holding out for an AMG-built, high-riding crossover, it’s probably time to give in and just get yourself a GLE 63.
UPDATE [03/13/2018]: In an email to The Drive, a Mercedes spokesperson clarified how the GT 4-Door sets itself apart from the CLS. Basically, think of the gulf in ethos between the hardcore AMG GT and cushier SL grand tourer.
“Consider the difference between some other somewhat-similar cars in our lineup – the GT and the SL,” said the Mercedes rep. “One is an all-out performance car, the other is a luxury grand tourer. This is how the AMG GT 4-Door is being approached, too–it is a sportier, more performance-focused option for a different customer than the CLS.”