Mercedes-Benz just released a video about Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton visiting its design center and the footage includes a teaser for the next-generation Mercedes-AMG GT sports car. The video shows Hamilton and members of the Mercedes-Benz team checking out a clay model of a sporty coupe, and it might just be a scale prototype of the second-gen GT.

The Setup

The clay model shows up in a one-and-a-half-minute video about Lewis Hamilton visiting Mercedes' design headquarters. As a reminder, Hamilton has been an F1 driver for Mercedes-AMG since 2013 and has been racing for the Mercedes-powered McLaren team since 2007. Lewis won five titles with Mercedes-AMG and an additional one with McLaren Mercedes, so he's pretty much a regular when it comes to the German company's marketing videos.

The video shows Hamilton arriving at the headquarters and watching presentations of various concepts that the automaker introduced recently. Hamilton also contributes to the model's styling by scraping off some of the excess material. He then gets into a Maybach concept, but the big highlight is obviously the clay model. It's the first time it shows up on video and it's obviously a brand-new design that we haven't seen before.

What Does it Look Like?

The clay model isn't yet finished, but it's not far from completion either. The important things to notice is that it has a two-door coupe design similar to the Mercedes-AMG GT and that the proportions seem almost identical. It features a sleek roof, a tailgate and a short deck in the back, and muscular rear fenders.

The front fascia boasts a similar long and muscular hood, but the details are different. These features are seemingly inspired by the Mercedes-AMG One, a supercar that the German firm will launch in 2020.

The rear end looks quite aggressive, with a really thin upper fascia and a massive bumper with a rather big diffuser at the bottom. The taillights are thin, just like on the existing AMG GT, but shaped a bit differently. What's more, there's no spoiler or wing on this car, but we might see one on the final design.

Is this clay model a legit preview of the next AMG GT?

I think it is. Sure, you'd expect Mercedes-Benz to stir a bit more hype for a second-gen AMG GT, but it's not the first time when a big automaker makes a quiet introduction of a new model. But despite the lack of noise surrounding this clay model, I'm pretty sure it was created for the second-generation AMG GT. The sports car was introduced in 2014, so it's already on the market for five years. Mercedes already introduced a facelift and several models in both coupe and convertible guises, as well as track-ready and race-spec versions. Given that most Mercs stick around for five to six years, it's safe to assume that the AMG GT is being prepared for a redesign. A clay model suggests that Mercedes is already working on full-size prototypes, so we could see one on public roads as early as 2020.

Mercedes-AMG GT lineup