GT 4-Door Coupé (X290) 2026 AMG GT 4-Door Vision EV

[Design FIRST]

Nobody wants an EV mobile for a fun car.

That does hold true for many, yet it remains a bit of a generalization. Looking at this in a few years time could present some very different results. We don't know for sure.

 

[Dopebouy]

Wasn't that Horch prior to WWII. And BMW offering the first German post-WWII V8 in the 502 "Barockengel" ? M-B first appeared on that scene in 1963 with the W100 600, I believe.

Guess i’m too young for this info.

And Mercedes have:
GLE 580 (its rare because nobody wants to buy one, not because they don't make it)
GLS 580
S580

Which is basically the same as the competitors. Face it, the V8 non-sport models are just a dying breed. Nobody wants them because they're expensive as absolute f#ck to maintain and run.
And they're only going to become even more of a liability in the current geopolitical climate.

Mercedes are making a new V8 by the way. Its there if the market wants it. But this idea that they should abandon the high end EV powertrains is just nonsense. Not having any offerings at all, even if they sell badly/depreciate badly, is basically giving up the opportunity to develop experience in manufacturing and tuning EVs. And giving up is stupidity.

No matter how much we petrolheads love ICE. There is a future where that is no longer the powertrain of choice for non-petrolheads. The average joe is much more important to Mercedes, BMW and Audi, than any number of enthusiast.

Worst part about this V8 thingie is that Mercedes does make an AMG 63 V8 C-class,E-class & now GT4-door where a V8 is MANDATORY. Does that even make sense?

 

[Dopebouy]

That does hold true for many, yet it remains a bit of a generalization. Looking at this in a few years time could present some very different results. We don't know for sure.

Tell me how GOOD the Taycan Turbo GT is doing in the market my good sir

 

[Esp5]

"Unit sales" is a subordinate issue pertaining to this particular vehicle.

It never was, isn't, or will be.
Never. From the very beginning of its conception, it was never intended that it wouldn't sell well; no car is conceived and approved without that priority.

Yes. The EQ cars aren't bad either by the way. Just ugly.

They weren't bad, but nothing special either. You can check out the first EQS tests in videos; they found it quite average in its handling, inspiring little confidence behind the wheel and even very poor in other aspects like the brake pedal. It lacked innovation for a "revolutionary" EV and, in general,It lacked maturity as a product. The experience was extremely boring, the quality was terrible, and it fell far short of what a Mercedes should be.

 

[leylandi]

It was true that the EQS was more technologically advanced than its BMW competitor. It was a fact that the EQS was more technologically advanced than its BMW rival. At least it wasn't built on the ICE platform. With this year's update, it will receive a major technical upgrade.

 

[Design FIRST]

Guess i’m too young for this info.

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

Tell me how GOOD the Taycan Turbo GT is doing in the market my good sir

The market isn't static.
Until literally 2 weeks ago, Oil prices were at the lowest in recent history.
A few missiles later, we're surging to all-time-highs.

Perhaps an enthusiast performance car won't work as an EV, but not even trying to me is cowardice, and a regression to safety over actually trying to innovate.

It never was, isn't, or will be.
Never. From the very beginning of its conception, it was never intended that it wouldn't sell well; no car is conceived and approved without that priority.

Be that as it may. Even now, they probably understand the demand will be limited (though again, oil prices may see that change). But its still worthwhile making it, because it will provide experience to YASA to make their motors at scale. It'll help Mercedes/AMG build experience in manufacturing, assembling and tuning EV drivetrains. This stuff is invaluable, even if the current product doesn't sell.

 

[Design FIRST]

It never was, isn't, or will be.
Never. From the very beginning of its conception, it was never intended that it wouldn't sell well; no car is conceived and approved without that priority.

Automotive history presents examples of "high unit sales" being of secondary importance. Of course, no manufacturer is willing to sustainably support a product that is returning nothing other than financial losses. But the "halo" function is not to be dismissed. As a presentation of what is technologically and stylistically possible, a showcase for what can and perhaps will be "trickled down" with the costs of which being diminished by economies of scale, etc. Or maybe simply to place a public magnifying glass on an automobile that has the qualities of becoming an enduring aspirational icon. Especially U.S. manufacturers embraced this decades ago. The FoMoCo's 1956-57 Continental MKII that was produced for less than 2 years and was a loss-maker from the beginning, but remains a legend. The same can be said for the Cadillac Eldorado Broughams and Biarritz of 1957-58. Or Studebaker's 1962 Avanti. These particular automobiles contributed to FoMoCo and GM selling a lot more of their far more pedestrian offerings. Studebaker did eventually go under, though.

I know, this is primarily stuff for automotive historians rather than participants in the "ICE versus BEV" debate. Yet, IMHO, it remains a valid case in point.

 

[Esp5]

Automotive history presents examples of "high unit sales" being of secondary importance. Of course, no manufacturer is willing to sustainably support a product that is returning nothing other than financial losses. But the "halo" function is not to be dismissed. As a presentation of what is technologically and stylistically possible, a showcase for what can and perhaps will be "trickled down" with the costs of which being diminished by economies of scale, etc. Or maybe simply to place a public magnifying glass on an automobile that has the qualities of becoming an enduring aspirational icon. Especially U.S. manufacturers embraced this decades ago. The FoMoCo's 1956-57 Continental MKII that was produced for less than 2 years and was a loss-maker from the beginning, but remains a legend. The same can be said for the Cadillac Eldorado Broughams and Biarritz of 1957-58. Or Studebaker's 1962 Avanti. These particular automobiles contributed to FoMoCo and GM selling a lot more of their far more pedestrian offerings. Studebaker did eventually go under, though.

I know, this is primarily stuff for automotive historians rather than participants in the "ICE versus BEV" debate. Yet, IMHO, it remains a valid case in point.

"They ended up being of secondary importance" is very different from being conceived with that in mind.
I stand by what I said because it's a fact.
Ask BMW about their halo cars, the M1 and the 507. They ended up being legends, but they bankrupted the brand. If it hadn't been for a stroke of luck, BMW would be owned by Mercedes today. You have to be careful with these things, and Mercedes isn't being careful.

 

[leylandi]

BMW was going to go bankrupt trying to compete with Mercedes. You're talking about them owning it, haha. On the contrary, Mercedes wanted to buy it. The 507, a copy of the 300 SL, was nobody's concern. I'm sure there are still many people who don't even know it exists. Maybe BMW started to shy away from making sports cars after that. The M sportscar still doesn't exist. They were so hesitant that they chose to make the XM, which also ended in a fiasco.

 

[Design FIRST]

Ask BMW about their halo cars, the M1.

Yes, at first a dog's breakfast financially. But in retrospect, one of the most "Successful Failures" in automotive history. In terms of it's playing a key role in the foundation of BMW's M GmbH, in terms of it's later status as an aspirational, highly sought despite being exorbitantly expensive modern classic.

and the 507.

BMW's post WWII problems from the late 1940's through 1962 were so immense that the 507 was little more than a minor footnote in the grander scheme of things back then. Having a model range consisting of very small, rudimentary minicars (one of which originally developed in Italy by a manufacturer of refrigerators) and luxury cars that were technologically firmly anchored in the pre-WWII era with nothing in between was the major dilemma.

 

[Esp5]

"Successful Failures"

Absolutely, but the brand was 5 minutes away from the same thing happening to Saab. Would you think the same if it had caused that?