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Mercedes-AMG’s six-cylinder GT 4-Door gets V8-like looks and an extra seat

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Mercedes-AMG has given the GT 4-Door a round of light updates to help it fend off the Porsche Panamera, its crosstown rival. The changes made for 2022 include design tweaks, better in-car tech, and suspension upgrades.

Developed in-house by AMG, and celebrated as the fastest four-door car on Germany’s Nürburgring track, the GT remains available with six or eight cylinders. The visual changes made to the former are small; the most noteworthy update is that customers who order one are able to request the same front end as the more powerful (and more expensive) V8-powered models. AMG also added three colors to the palette called Spectral Blue Metallic, Spectral Blue Mango, and Cashmere White Mango; the last two feature a matte finish. The AMG Night Package II now includes dark chrome and black accents, while the Night Package and the Carbon Fiber package can be combined.

New 20- and 21-inch wheel designs complement the additional colors. Inside, additional color combinations (like gray and black leather upholstery with yellow contrast stitching; shown in the gallery), a redesigned steering wheel, and additional trim choices (such as open-pore wood) are the main additions to the GT’s configurator. If you’ve got more than three friends, you’re in luck: A three-person rear bench is now available in the United States.

While you might not immediately tell the 2022 GT apart from the 2021 if you see them parked side by side, you’ll hopefully recognize which is newer if you drive them back to back. AMG redesigned the standard air suspension system to increase the spread between comfort and performance. Engineers notably added an extra pressure limiting valve, so there are now two; one controls the rebound, and the other controls the compression. We’re told doubling up the valves allows the GT to make more precise adjustments to its suspension system, hence the wider gap between comfort and sport. Called AMG Ride Control+, this technology also keeps body roll in check.

AMG made no major mechanical modifications to the six-cylinder GTs. Called 43, the entry-level model is powered by a turbocharged, 3.0-liter straight-six rated at 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. Named 53, the next version up gains an evolution of the six with 429 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque on tap. Both engines spin the four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission and AMG’s performance-tuned 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Mild hybrid technology helps keep fuel economy in check and makes both GTs a little peppier.

Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Europe will begin receiving the six-cylinder-powered variants of the updated GT in August 2021. On our side of the pond, the sedan will arrive as a 2022 model. V8-powered versions will follow, and we’re still waiting for AMG to unveil the hugely powerful plug-in hybrid it developed to place at the top of the range.

At launch, the 2022 GT lineup will include a 53-based Exclusive Edition that gains the V8 Styling Package, Rubellite Red exterior paint, high-gloss chrome trim, and 21-inch wheels. AMG builds each Exclusive Edition with Neva Gray leather upholstery, gray open-pore ash trim, illuminated door sill panels, and a specific emblem on the dashboard. Pricing information and details about the V8-powered GTs will be released in the coming months.

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