FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Concept IAA is four-door AMG GT

Forget the emphasis on electric drive and low emissions via active aerodynamics; under the curvaceous skin of Mercedes-Benz Concept IAA is a very different car. And it’s an AMG.

At the striking Concept IAA’s unveiling in Frankfurt overnight, two highly-placed Mercedes-Benz insiders confirmed that the car is the styling inspiration for a four-door version of Mercedes-AMG’s flagship GT sports car.

The production car, which will likely be powered by a 400kW-plus version of AMG’s new 4.0-litre biturbo petrol V8, is not expected to debut before March 2017’s Geneva motor show.

However, it could be fast-tracked as Mercedes-Benz and AMG seek to bolster their line-up against new entrants in the top-end of the sports luxury marketplace.

motoring.com.au has previously reported on the potential of a four-door, four-seat version of the GT.

Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche commented that two cars were designed in parallel in the construction of ConceptI AA. While the inference was that the two cars were the short and long-tail versions of the aero-warrior, insiders put another slant on the project.

They suggest the exterior styling is a mild-to-wild version of the car that will become the four-door version of the Mercedes-AMG GT, while the “other car” refers to the Concept IAA’s interior – which is a pointer at the cabin of the new geneation E-Class.

“I suggest you take a very close look at the interior, because you’re going to see elements of this design again soon in a new Mercedes-Benz sedan,” global boss Zetsche said on the unveiling of Concept IAA.

The gimmicky extendable tail and front louvres and the like are unlikely to make it to production in the four-door GT, but that doesn’t mean the car will not have active aero. Like Porsche’s current 911 Turbo S, there’s scope for more radical aero aids in a ‘normal’ production car.

The front/mid-engined proportions of the Concept IAA also match well to the unique AMG-designed platform the current GT is build on.