Over the weekend, Mercedes introduced a new member to its AMG GT lineup: an SUV. Following a path that hasn’t worked well for BMW’s M division, this boxier AMG GT isn’t based on any existing Merc SUV; it’s completely electric and completely autonomous. Like other hi-po EVs, it also makes fake sounds, although it turns out you only get the V8’s simulated soundtrack if you pay extra.
As ridiculous as it sounds, yes: Mercedes has decided to limit V8 noises, should you choose to hear them, to the more expensive and more 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 maximum output of 1,153 horsepower, while the GT 55 reaches 805 horsepower and the GT 53, 536 horsepower.
Today, Mercedes made it clear that it has gone to great lengths to recreate the rich sounds of these engines as faithfully as possible. The AMGFORCE Sport+ system – that’s what makes the noise – uses reference material that is “meticulously documented rather than synthetically generated, based on more than 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 situation and driving style, including acceleration and gear changes”, according to the manufacturer’s literature.
This feels like a commitment to the most authentic fake engine sounds you’ve ever heard, and that’s great. But 10 years later, since Renault encouraged (petrol) Clio owners to pretend to drive a Nissan GT-R or ride a motorcycle, it’s quite amusing that Mercedes controls a V8 fantasy. And I understand that if someone buys one, it’s not because of the way it sounds. (It certainly wouldn’t be because of the way look atneither, but that’s another story.) This, however, is an artificial degree of exclusivity that seems terribly stingy, even if it ultimately only matters to Mercedes.
It also leaves me wondering why on earth automakers care so deeply about the sound of their electric vehicles, anyway. Each of them devotes a lot of publicity to completely frivolous synthetic noises. They are necessary at some level for pedestrian awareness. Beyond that, they are desperately designed to fill a perceived emotional void. They can’t, they never will, and that’s the carrot Mercedes is handing them here.
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