From Road to Race: Exploring the Duality of the Mercedes-AMG GT Pro

From Florida freeways to California canyons, the AMG GT Pro is at home just about anywhere

written by Steven Ewing
edited by Kirk Bell
5/30/2026
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What's new: The AMG GT 63 Pro adds power and poise to Merc's sweet-looking sport coupe.
Why it matters: For anyone who thought the new AMG GT 63 lost its edge, the Pro proves this car's sharpness is very much intact.
Edmunds says: OK, sure, a $200K sports car ought to be this good. But the overall breadth of its capabilities is definitely the GT's best trait.

This story starts in a parking garage at the Orlando airport, where a super early wake-up call, numerous flight delays, and a five-hour plane ride full of screaming children and their Disney Adult parents have resulted in me being in, well, a mood. Right now, I couldn't care less about the fact that I'm holding the keys to a Green Hell Magno Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Pro. All I want to do is cocoon myself in any car and just get the heck out of Orlando and up to my parents' house, which is still an hour and a half away. There's a homemade dinner waiting for me. And a stiff drink. And a bed.

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Oh, Florida

Friends who live in Florida insist there are a few good driving roads, but I've yet to find them. Or maybe it's just because the majority of my time in the Sunshine State is either spent sitting in Miami traffic or driving between the Orlando airport and my parents' place in Lady Lake. On freeways lined with a sea of beige and silver rental cars, the Green Hell Magno Merc sticks out like a sore thumb. And while you might think a car like the GT Pro — with its sport bucket seats and 21-inch wheels riding on ultra-high-performance summer tires — wouldn't be the best tool for a highway slog, it's actually shockingly comfortable.

Crucially, the GT Pro's suspension isn't any different than what you get in the GT 63, and that car is a long-distance delight. Leave the drive mode selector in its default Comfort setting and the Pro is more supple than you might imagine. The seats are great, too: nice and supportive with padding in all the right places. Road and wind noise is nicely hushed at freeway speeds, and the ambient sounds that do make their way into the cabin are easily drowned out by the Pro's standard Burmester audio system.

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It might seem lame for a car as aggro-looking as the AMG GT Pro to be so tame in day-to-day driving, but that's actually part of the design brief. Consider the Porsche 911: It's one of the world's best sports cars and one of the world's best grand tourers. The AMG GT even has a front-axle lift now — no more driveway scrapes!

Better roads, different color

After a few days with my folks and a trip to the 12 Hours of Sebring race, it's time to head home to Los Angeles. And whaddaya know, there's a Sun Yellow Mercedes-AMG GT Pro in the Edmunds HQ parking lot, ready for testing. For me, that includes a run up my favorite canyon road. As good as the Pro is on Florida freeways, it's even better in California canyons. It's time for this yellow beast to shine.

Compared to the standard AMG GT 63, the Pro adds 26 horsepower and 37 lb-ft of torque. That bumps the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8's output up to 603 hp and 627 lb-ft, which is plenty, to say the least. Only the AMG GT 63 S E Performance plug-in hybrid is more powerful. But as my buddy Nick Yekikian points out, power isn't everything. The Pro is still the driver's choice.

Output figures don't tell the V8's story; this engine impresses from the moment it barks to life. Put the Pro in its Sport or Sport+ drive modes and power delivery to all four wheels is immediate. The GT Pro simply rockets off the line, the electronically adaptive suspension keeping the body flat and stable as you pick up speed. In corners, the Pro is even more magical. The variable all-wheel-drive system constantly shuffles torque to send it to the wheels that have the most grip. The steering has great heft and accuracy. The automatic transmission absolutely rips up and down through its nine gears, letting the tachometer needle kiss redline before upshifting and preemptively downshifting under hard braking to make sure the V8 is on boil for when you bolt out of a turn.

Special credit goes to the GT Pro's massive 16.5-inch front and 14.2-inch rear carbon-ceramic brakes, which scrub off speed with quick, sure-footed action. Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires — a no-cost option — are also a godsend, giving this coupe absolutely incredible high-speed grip. To wit: The GT Pro has the same amount of grip as the absolutely hardcore Mercedes-AMG GT R.

Sounds like we need some track time

"It's a car you can lean on, as evidenced by the fact that it pulled 1.13 g on the skidpad with no tendency to break out in a slide at the limit of grip." Those are the notes from vehicle test editor Gabriel Vega Cortés after a few laps around the Edmunds test track, where the GT 63 Pro really struts its stuff.

Even compared to the more powerful GT 63 S E Performance, the Pro proves its mettle. Gabe chimes in again: "It doesn't have the same eagerness to rotate as the E Performance does, and it's all the better for it. Despite being the more track-oriented model, it feels significantly more buttoned-down and stable."

"Pro" is right

From the freeways of Florida to the canyons of California to hugging the hairpins of Edmunds' private track, there is nothing the AMG GT Pro cannot do. It's just as happy being a comfy commuter as it is taking lap after lap on a race course. It's nicely appointed, the tech works very well, and there's even enough room in the trunk for a couple of small suitcases and a backpack. In terms of sports car all-rounders, it's hard to beat the GT Pro.

Of course, that's what you should expect for a coupe that costs $204,850, including the mandatory destination charge and a gas guzzler tax (16 mpg combined, womp womp). As tested, my Green Hell Magno car has a sticker price of $224,810. The Sun Yellow car? A more modest $211,360. A Porsche 911 GT3 Touring will run you at least $240,000 to start, and while that coupe has the added engagement of an available manual transmission, I genuinely think the GT Pro is more exciting. That V8 accounts for a lot.

Mea culpa: I admit I originally complained about the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 being too soft and not as edgy as its predecessor. But the more time I spend with the GT, the more I like it. The Pro proves the AMG GT's sharpness is wholly intact while still giving the GT 63 a broader range of usability than ever before.

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by Steven Ewing

Steven Ewing is Edmunds' director of editorial content. An automotive journalist for more than half of his life, Ewing's been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and he was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. He's also contributed to publications like Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and more. Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. From testing prototype cars in the Arctic Circle to spilling a beer on a Formula 1 driver at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (oops), he's always got an interesting story to tell.

edited by Kirk Bell

Cars have been an important part of his life since Kirk learned to identify them by their headlights as a toddler. He grew up helping pit crew for his dad’s highly unsuccessful drag racing escapades, and he turned his knowledge of the car culture into a career when he became an editor at Scale Auto Enthusiast magazine starting in college. Kirk has been writing about full-scale cars for more than 20 years and was named to the North American Car and Truck of the Year jury in 2014. He was most recently senior editor at Motor Authority, where he specialized in luxury and performance cars. Kirk also authored and edited several car books, including the award-winning Hot Rod & Custom Chronicle and NASCAR Chronicle when was managing editor at Consumer Guide Automotive. Kirk enjoys nothing more than a track day, but he’s also a Wisconsin sport fan and he enjoys spirited drives in his 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S.

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