Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe takes class Nürburgring record

Mercedes-AMG has secured the fastest lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife for an 'executive class' car with its GT 4-Door Coupé.

Secured with a 2021-model-year GT 63 S 4Matic+ driven by AMG development engineer Demian Schaffert, a time of 7min 27.80sec for the complete lap has been officially recognised by the track.

The time beats the previous segment record of 7:29.81 set by Stuttgart rival Porsche with a Panamera Turbo S earlier this year. It also beats the previous lap time set by a GT 4-Door Coupé (again driven by Schaffert) in 2018 by 2.3sec.

The 2021 version of the 630bhp GT 63 S, which has been in production since September, is claimed to feature subtle tweaks to the chassis and other fine-tuning measures. The car used in the record was standard aside from being fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, the optional aero package and bucket seats with a four-point harness for safety.

Mercedes claimed the track conditions for the record attempt were "anything but optimal," with some wet areas and an air temperature of just 7deg C.

The lap time isn't the fastest for a four-door saloon, being 4sec behind that of the Jaguar XE SV Project 8. However, the Nürburgring categorises 'executive' cars differently, with models such as the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class in the 'upper mid-range' category.

The AMG GT 4-Door Coupé shares its top tier category with the Mercedes S-Class and other large coupés, such as the Audi A7 Sportback.

Next year, AMG will bring out an even more powerful, plug-in hybrid variant of the GT 4-Door Coupé, dubbed the GT 73. Using an electrified version of the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre petrol V8, its expected output should be close to 800bhp.

It remains to be seen if this version will try to beat today's record.