Mercedes-AMG went to extremes to prove it really is possible to put a Formula 1 car on the road, although seeing the AMG One project through to completion involved so much effort and so many revised deadlines that the main point it proved was how difficult such an ambition was to achieve

But now here’s a new AMG that claims power and performance potential so vast as to make the low, light two-seater with a hybrid V6 engine seem a little puny by comparison. The debutant is the Concept GT XX, a four-door electric coupe designed to showcase AMG’s ability to transition its skills from combustion engines to high-performance EVs. It’s claimed to make more than one megawatt from its three axial flux motors, with a top speed of 224mph.

An EV that’s the quickest AMG ever? It’s quite a statement from the operation that began as an independent engineering firm making brash versions of Merc saloons, exemplified by the Red Pig, a 300 SEL limo that AMG turned into a racer, powered by a 6.8-litre V8, that came second at the Spa 24-hour race in 1971. Fully owned by Mercedes since 2005, AMG is no stranger to electric cars, such as the SLS Electric Drive from more than a decade ago. While it was a limited-run project, it showed there could be such a thing as an electric sports car. And more recently AMG has puts its name to hot versions of the EQE and EQS, even if those are more like luxury EVs with a bit of extra poke rather than serious full-on AMGs.

The GT XX is different in so many ways. This is a bespoke AMG product, designed and developed at AMG’s Affalterbach HQ. It’s labelled as a concept, but it isn’t a static design study that’ll sit in a museum once the buzz dies down. Those last two letters – XX – highlight that it’s a rolling technology test bed much like the Mercedes Vision EQ XX that came before it. Stand next to the GT XX and you’ll see real windscreen wipers and door mirrors, as well as a VIN. When I ask head of advanced design Stefan Lamm if it moves, he’s emphatic: ‘At some pace.’

One of the key inspirations for the GT XX is the C111, the series of coupes produced in the 1960s and ’70s that O experimented with Wankel and diesel engines. Lamm and the design team make several nods to that orange and black wedge, not least via the Sunset Beam paint.

The front of the GT XX lacks the purity of the C111, but the overall look is striking, and there are some fascinating details. There are aero inserts in each wheel hub, powered by an actuator, that can move in or out to prioritise aerodynamics or brake cooling. Bioluminescent paint is applied to the door sills. See that stripe of white? It’s backlit and can glow to show how much charge the battery has.

There are exterior speakers built in to the headlights, able to emit various sounds – including fake engine revving – for the benefit of pedestrians. And, for a bit of retro flavour, a pixelated screen nestled between the afterburner-style tail lights can communicate messages.

The pared-back interior includes contoured carbonfibre seats, finned metallic ornaments that look like heat sinks and a steering wheel a lot like the AMG One’s. Mercedes is developing a new fake leather that feels as soft as nappa but much stronger; for the GT XX, the material is made from recycled AMG GT3 racing car tyres.

Unlike the EQ XX, which was primarily designed to chase extreme efficiency and manage more than 1000 kilometres on a single charge, the GT XX is chasing extreme power. AMG has achieved the output of one megawatt, or 1341bhp, via axial flux motors from YASA – a British engineering firm owned by Mercedes, as featured in Agenda in the February issue. This is technology – which we dubbed the V12 of electric motors – worthy of the futuristic appearance of the concept. AMG engineers say the powertrain is actually capable of producing more than one megawatt.

Quick recap: in a more conventional radial flux electric motor, the magnetic flux flows from the core of the motor outwards and around the edges to spin the rotor. With an axial flux motor, the force flows through the core from magnet to magnet to produce the same effect. This change in flux direction allows the motors to be lighter and less bulky; AMG engineers tell us the GT XX’s motors are two thirds lighter and take up a third of the space.

‘But the real benefits we get are from the performance,’ says David Storr, electric drive component engineer for Mercedes-AMG. ‘We’ve got three times the power density and two times the torque density compared to a conventional electric motor, and we’re the first to bring these motors into a full electric vehicle.’

The GT XX has one motor at the front and two at the rear, allowing for all-wheel drive. The rear motors are packaged together into what AMG calls a High Performance Electric Drive Unit, which also houses a planetary gearset and inverter. The front motor only kicks in when extra power is required, then disconnects again.

The battery tech is extreme, too. AMG is using cylindrical rather than pouch cells as they are easier to cool and more can be packaged within a battery of the same size, making the pack more energy-dense, although it’s a more expensive configuration. The GT XX has 800-volt architecture, and AMG claims it’s capable of very high charging speeds. Bertram Tschamon, head of high-performance batteries, tells us the GT XX could charge at an average of 850kW, and says Mercedes had to create a new charging station capable of such extremes.

‘The battery can peak even higher than that, but we’re not interested in the peak number – we’re more interested in what it can do over a long period of time,’ says Tschamon. ‘With these speeds, you can achieve 400 kilometres [248 miles] in five minutes.’ Tschamon also confirms that this is an AMG-specific battery pack, off limits to regular Mercs.

That charging time is purely notional without that super-capable charger, unlikely to be available to the public any time soon. Some of the more futuristic details like those wheel inserts and the bioluminescent paint are experimental, too; AMG exterior tech expert Üsame Akkoca says they’re currently at the ‘pre-development’ stage.

The super-efficient EQ XX concept has not led to a production version, although learnings from the project helped in the creation of the new CLA. Similarly there will be no production version of the GT XX, although some elements of the design will turn up in the next-generation AMG GT 4-Door. More significantly, the GT XX’s electric motor and battery technology is ready to go and will be used under the skin of the GT 4-Door. An SUV has been confirmed for 2027, while CAR’s intel suggests a two-door coupe and convertible will also be coming.

‘The engine has always been the heart of AMG from the Red Pig to the AMG One,’ says Storr. ‘It’s always been the central component of everything we make, and that should be the same in an electric world.’