As far as I’m concerned the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe is about as controversial as it gets. I consider it to be one of the laziest efforts from Mercedes to date. I mean, come on, It’s basically a CLS – it even looks like it, and some of the powertrains are even the same. Case in point – the AMG GT 53. Under the hood, you’ll find the same exact powertrain that you find under the hood of the CLS53. Be that as it may, we stumbled across the GT53 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and it sure did look really nice – even if it is just a CLS – in its fine red color. And, to top it off, it is rocking some rather strange, out-of-place, old-school wheels. That’s right – the AMG GT 53 showed up to L.A. wearing a nice red dress and a new pair of shoes.

The Mercedes-AMG GT 53 in Brief

As far as I’m concerned the GT 4-Door Coupe (it’s a freaking sedan, by the way) is nothing more than a glorified CLS that Mercedes can charge you more money for. But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t awesome in its own right as well. Under the hood sits a 429-horsepower beast of an engine that’s paired with an EQ boost system. The latter adds on some 21 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. It’s not bad, but it’s not quite up to par with the base GT Coupe that delivers 465 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. Sure; it beats it on torque thanks to that EQ boost system, but it’s still quite underpowered. In the end, the GT 53 can hit 60 mph in 4.4 seconds on the way to 174 mph.

Inside, the GT 53 has a mix of E-Class and CLS – big surprise there – and it’s basically the same thing you’ll get by buying the cheaper CLS53. Oh yeah, and it has its own scent – something Mercedes calls a “sporty scent to match the spirit of the performance brand.”

Either way, it showed up to the L.A. Auto Show wearing a pretty red finish and some strange looking shoes and, for some reason, we actually like it. I still can’t get past the fact that it’s just a CLS with a higher price tag, but I really like this configuration. What do you think?

Mercedes-AMG GT 53 specifications

Further reading

Read our newest review on the 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door

Read our full review on the 2019 Mercedes-AMG CLS 53 4Matic.