Mercedes-AMG GT63 Pro 2025 review – a four-seat Porsche 911 GT3 rival?

Brake through the compression, nudge the kerb on the right, then commit hard into the uphill left-hander, reaching full power at the summit of the crest. That’s what the AMG GT63 Pro I’m following has just done, but then it is being driven by five-time DTM champion Bernd Schneider. Bernd knows this car, and to say he knows how to drive would be an understatement of epic proportions. The rainfall over Circuito Ascari doesn’t seem to faze him, nor the fact that we’re running on Michelin Cup 2 Rs – not ideal for clearing water.

Deep breath, pile the speed in. Schneider is kicking up a shower of spray ahead and the wipers briefly sweep the screen. I’ve just about followed his line through the entry but the GT63 feels big, as if its 1875kg wants to skate towards the grass on the slick surface. It nearly does when I get on the throttle and the rear snaps wide under power. I overcorrect slightly as the four-wheel drive system, rear-wheel steering and stability control work to pull the car straight again. Despite the scruffy exit, Schneider hasn’t completely disappeared, and I emerge with serious respect for the GT63 Pro’s capabilities. And Cup 2 R tyres.

> Porsche 911 GT3 (992.2) 2025 review – the best GT3 yet?

To be fair, the GT63 is already a car we rate highly at evo. Our first drive earlier this year revealed that the move to a new 2+2 platform has turned it into a genuine Porsche 911 rival, despite being related to the less-than-dazzling SL cabriolet. We’ve subsequently lined it up against a 911 Turbo S (issue 324), which it ran very close, and when testing the stonking 805bhp E Performance hybrid version, John Barker had this to say: ‘The way it piles on speed from 124mph to 186mph is unreal.’ We thought it’d be a while before AMG turned up the heat with a GT63 for circuit driving but, with the new Pro version, that’s exactly what we’ve got.

That said, the Pro’s positioning is a little odd. Mercedes says it’s been created in response to customers who want a GT63 for trackdays, but it’s no ground-hugging, wide-track monster like the old GT R Pro (AMG is tight-lipped regarding a replacement for that). Instead, the GT63 Pro gets a series of incremental changes to make it more durable and slightly faster around a circuit.

A 27bhp uplift for the GT63’s 4-litre twin-turbo V8 brings it up to 604bhp, with torque peaking at a monstrous 627lb ft compared with the base car’s 590. The boost has been achieved through ECU programming, and while the 3.2sec 0-62mph time is unchanged, the Pro reaches 124mph half a second quicker, in 10.9sec. The drivetrain is kept cooler too, thanks to new radiators positioned in the front wheelarches and active cooling for the diffs and transfer case.

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There are no changes to the suspension, but there is a redesigned front apron that reduces lift by more than 30kg, as well as underbody air deflectors and a fixed rear wing – available as an option on the standard GT63 – that adds 15kg of downforce. Despite the slightly increased aero loads, the interlinked Active Ride Control dampers automatically maintain the correct ride height at speed without modification.

The brakes are specified for track use, too. The standard items can wilt under hard road use, but the Pro gets massive carbon-ceramic discs (measuring 420mm at the front) with improved cooling, gripped by uprated pads. The 21-inch Cup 2 R tyres we’re running here are a no-cost option (and may come as standard on UK cars), and there’s plenty of rubber on the ground – the 295-section fronts are wider than an M3’s rears.

Sometimes the wide expanse of a racetrack can dull the sense of speed in even very, very fast cars, but not Ascari. Especially not a wet Ascari. There really isn’t much time to rest over a lap, and following Schneider in another Pro, it’s clear that a slow and gentle build-up isn’t really his style. From the green light he’s absolutely on it.

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Thankfully, the GT63 doesn’t bite unless you take liberties in these conditions – particularly with the ESC left on, as suggested by Schneider, who was three seconds quicker than with it off. Through Ascari’s medium-speed sweepers the Pro turns in with an alacrity that you just don’t expect from a 1.9-ton front-engined car. There is an undeniable sense of heft, but the platform resists roll, and the way the wide front tyres dig in, working with the rear-axle steering, means you can carry momentum into an apex as you would in something lighter. Traction is gently managed before the V8 rips onto the next straight and through its nine gear ratios.

You need to be careful on the wettest parts of the track, though, because while the scantly treaded Michelins work up to a point, when grip falls away it does so very quickly. Suddenly your confidence ebbs, and it takes a few corners to edge back up to the limit. Schneider has a couple of ‘moments’ in the Pro ahead. He says the car is much more progressive on Pilot Sport 5s in this kind of weather, but for me part of the problem is that the steering is numb in your hands, forcing you to drive on your wits rather than feel.

Don’t take this to mean that the GT63 Pro isn’t mightily effective on a damp track, because it absolutely is. Traction is excellent, it’s rock-steady at speed and you can lap very quickly without much effort. It’s just that squeezing the last bit of performance from it requires a bit of a leap, and some understanding of how the four-wheel drive works. When power overcomes grip at the rear you need to settle into the slide and maintain a constant throttle, keeping your corrections to a minimum and allowing the electronics to figure out where to send the torque.

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When the track dries out and the Cup 2 Rs warm up, the GT63 Pro is devastating. That positive turn-in is even sharper, and you can work the throttle harder and earlier with much more confidence. Sport mode for the ESC really helps the balance, too, freeing up the engine in the traction zones to energise the rear where the nose would normally edge wide. The V8 doesn’t rumble like an AMG engine of old (the noise is strangely synthetic from inside the cabin) but it’s tractable enough to allow you to drive out of slow corners on the edge of grip, with you retaining control of any slip angles. Its delivery is explosive but not unmanageably so, and given the momentum you’re already carrying into braking zones, you never want more. The brakes themselves, meanwhile, have great power and endurance, but slowing this much mass from high speed can be physical and intense.

The GT63 Pro never escapes the sense of being a substantial, heavy-hitting coupe. It’s not as deft as a 911 GT3, nor as wildly playful as Aston Martin’s Vantage, but you can’t help but be deeply impressed by what it does, and what it can now do for lap after lap. And that’s before you remember it has a pair of (admittedly tight) back seats and genuine GT credentials.

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Price and rivals

The GT Pro costs from £179,350 in the UK, which is a huge amount of money for what still won't be the ultimate AMG GT, no doubt about it. In concept, it's closer to Porsche’s 911 Turbo S than it is the GT3 despite its track credentials. The former is currently only available in 50 Years special edition guise, and is even more expensive than the AMG at £200,600. Aston Martin’s new Vantage starts from £165,000 and is a more bespoke, desirable coupe but only seats two, and the same goes for the now-discontinued Ferrari Roma.

Mercedes-AMG GT63 Pro specs

This story was first featured in evo issue 328.