Mercedes-AMG 4GT will give your nan a smooth ride, pack in your family and do 0-62mph in 3.2 secs with a top-speed of 196mph

THE “laminated book of dreams” used to be your Argos catalogue.

It’s where you’d find a cheap toaster or an air bed or an Elizabeth Duke necklace for your first love.

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But now it’s going up in the world because Merc’s car range is so vast, it needs its own glossy book to fit them all in.

I’ve just sat here and counted 84 different models on sale today — 84 — and that’s before you start mucking about with trims and engines.

Then you’re talking 360-plus.

It’s mad.

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The car you see here is model No85, the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe.

Yes, really.

Rubbish name — so I’m going to call it the 4GT from now on — but oh my days, what a car.

In full assault mode, this four-seat family supercar will do 0-62mph in just 3.2 seconds and keep on charging all the way up to 196mph.

Bye, bye Mr Porsche Panamera Turbo.

And that’s only when we’re talking about a straight-line drag race.

Take it on a twisty racetrack like the Circuit of the Americas — the home of the US Grand Prix in Texas — and it harnesses all manner of voodoo to make it as nimble as a single-seater half its two-tonne weight.

It’s even got a drift mode in case you want to do your best Ken Block impression for the kids. And wipe-clean seats.

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Now for some nerdy stuff: four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, continuously adjustable damping, active aero, active exhaust flaps, underbody bracing and an electronically controlled locking rear diff, all working as one to make you look like a pro.

It is devilishly good.

But having said all that, take your nan for a Sunday drive and the 4GT is ­hovercraft-smooth with a seamless nine-speed auto and clever cylinder deactivation that shuts down four of the eight cylinders under partial load.

I’m not alone in thinking Merc has the edge over Audi and BMW these days — especially when it comes to interiors.

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And this 4GT is one of the few cars you’ll step inside and get straight back out again and sign on the dotted line before even turning a wheel.

It has such a sense of occasion.

That crowd-pleasing widescreen digital dash is available on all Mercs from the A-Class upwards but the 4GT is elevated by eight LED buttons in a V-formation on the centre console — V8, geddit.

Now here’s another one for car buffs.

Tears of joy

You’d expect the 4GT to share the same DNA as the yellow two-door AMG GT.

But actually, no. It has the bones of an E-Class estate.

Which got me thinking, if you really need a family missile, the E 63 S has the same 4-litre V8 as the 4GT — albeit just 612hp — but with a much bigger boot for a dog.

And you’ll save yourself £36,000.

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Then there’s the S560 coupe at £105,000.

That’s a sweet thing.

But it’s not the newest, most potent Merc is it?

No, sir.

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That’s model No85, the 4GT.

I’ll finish by going back to Bill Bailey’s sketch about Argos and the laminated book of dreams.

Bill said: “You know why it’s laminated don’t you?

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To catch the tears of joy. So many beautiful things.”

It’s the same with Merc, buddy.

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