It’s been a busy year for Mercedes-AMG.
Mercedes-Benz’s performance division introduced a gasoline-electric hypercar named Project One as a 50th birthday present to itself, it played a sizable role in reinventing the G-Class for the 21st century, and it introduced a stand-alone sedan aimed right at the Porsche Panamera. While AMG’s lineup is broader than it’s ever been, the brand’s top executive isn’t concerned about it becoming too big.
“It’s not a question of volume. Credibility comes with the product. This what I’m really focused on,” AMG boss Tobias Moers told Digital Trends. “Every car we bring to the market is a perfect brand ambassador in its own segment. People recognize the AMG engineering experience in every engine,” he added.
The GT Four-Door Coupe (pictured) unveiled this year at the Geneva auto show filled a gap in the company’s portfolio, as did the V8-powered GLC 63. Both are four-door models suitable for families in a hurry. AMG isn’t giving up on two-door coupes and convertibles, though. While the segment is shrinking globally due in part to lack of demand from luxury buyers, Moers looks at the problem from a different angle.
“China, a major part of the automotive business, is not contributing [to the two-door segment] so there is kind of a standstill in volume. There is always an up and a down but not a decline. [The segment] is just not moving forward like SUVs. It could be a problem but, together with Mercedes, we need to find a good way for the future of the GT and the SL,” he explained.
He added the next-generation SL will go back to the model’s roots, meaning it be more of a corner-carving sports car and less of a boulevard-cruising grand tourer, and stressed its future is bright. He also bluntly denied the reports claiming AMG is in charge of designing the next evolution of the convertible from the ground up. “I heard about that rumor. That rumor is wrong.”
While the SL will stick around in the foreseeable future, the smaller SLC is skating on perilously thin ice. “I don’t know, it’s under discussion. Under construction, so to speak,” Moers replied when we asked him about the entry-level convertible’s fate.
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