WATCH: Most powerful Mercedes ever unveiled in South Africa!

Mercedes-Benz has been widely criticised for its new generation performance engines.

Petrolheads were up in arms – and many still are – when Mercedes-AMG announced the powertrains of the new C-Class last year. Gone were the 3.0-litre V6 engine that served on the C43 and the 4.0-litre V8 mill that powered the C63.

Watch GT63’s local unveiling

Both these sedans are now powered by F1-developed electrically assisted four-cylinder 2.0-litre engines, which is the biggest bone of contention among purists. This is despite the new C63 S E producing significantly more power than its predecessor – 500 kW of and 1020 Nm of torque compared to 336 kW and 600 Nm.

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In a move that will not only put the petrolheads at ease, but blow then away, Merc has now joined the best of both worlds in the model called the Mercedes-AMG four-door GT63 S E Performance. The Affalterbach engineers have taken the familiar 4.0-litre V8 mill and added the electrical system that serves on the new C63 to it.

The end result is nothing but astounding. The GT63 produces 620 kW of power and a mind-numbing 1 400 Nm of torque. These outputs will get this beast from 0 to 100 km/h in a mere 2.9 seconds.

Most powerful Mercedes ever

Before this birth of this beast, the most powerful Mercedes powertrain was a 6-litre V12 mill. In the W222 S65 AMG Coupe it produced 463 kW/1 000 Nm. It’s claimed 0 to 100km/h sprint time was “only” 4.1 seconds.

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Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) gave the local media a quick glimpse of the GT63 at Kyalami Grand Prix Raceway last week. Unfortunately, with the model on display being a homologation unit, the media were not allowed to drive it.

MBSA hasn’t revealed a launch date, although the Mercedes-AMG GT63 is due to arrive “sometime” next year. Pricing remains a mystery, but early estimates are that it won’t be anything less than R4 million.

The closest other thing to the GT63 is the Porsche Panamera Turbo S e-hybrid. Carrying a price tag of R3 790 000, this Panamera produces a total of 514 kW and 970 Nm.