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Over the weekend, Mercedes introduced a new member to its AMG GT lineup—an SUV. Following a path that hasn’t worked out well for BMW’s M division, this boxier AMG GT isn’t based on any existing Merc SUV; it’s fully electric and fully its own thing. Like other hi-po EVs, it has fake sounds, too, though it turns out that you only get the simulated V8 soundtrack if you pay extra.
Ridiculous though it seems, yes: Mercedes decided to restrict the V8 noises, should you choose to hear them, to the more expensive and powerful GT SUV variants, the GT 55 and GT 63. Instead, the entry-level GT 53’s fake sounds mirror those of an AMG six-cylinder mill. The GT 63 has a peak output of 1,153 horsepower, while the GT 55 tops out at 805 hp, and the GT 53, at 536 hp.
Now, Mercedes has made it clear that it went to great lengths to convey the rich tones of these engines as accurately as possible. The AMGFORCE Sport+ system—that’s what makes the noises—uses reference material that is “meticulously documented rather than synthetically generated, based on over 100 measurements taken with 16 microphones and reference vehicles such as the Mercedes AMG GT R (C 190). The sound experience is dynamic and adapts in real time to the current driving situation and driving style, including acceleration and gear changes,” per the manufacturer’s own literature.
The Mercedes AMG GT SUV. Mercedes-AMG
That sounds like a commitment to the most authentic fake engine sounds you’ve ever heard, and that’s all well and good. But 10 years on since Renault encouraged (gas) Clio owners to pretend they were driving a Nissan GT-R or riding a motorcycle, it’s pretty amusing that Mercedes is gatekeeping a V8 fantasy. And I understand that if someone buys one of these, it’s not because of the way it sounds. (It certainly wouldn’t be because of the way it looks, either, but that’s another story.) This, though, is a degree of artificial exclusivity that feels awfully stingy, even if it ultimately only matters to Mercedes.
It also leaves me wondering why the hell car companies care so deeply about the way their EVs sound, anyway. Every single one of them devotes so much publicity to completely frivolous synthesized noises. They’re necessary on some level for pedestrian awareness. Beyond that, they’re hopelessly engineered to fill a perceived emotional void. They can’t, they never will, and that’s the carrot Mercedes is dangling here.
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Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
