Mercedes-AMG GT revealed, sets sights on 911

Affalterbach was a town rumbling with the sound of a new V8 GT last night. Home to AMG, this small German town on the outskirts of Stuttgart premiered the spiritual successor to the Mercedes SLS AMG – the Mercedes-AMG GT. As the name suggests, the new sportscar is a Grand Tourer that gets most of its development credited to the nutters at AMG and hence the V8 breathing company gets its nameplate on the new GT’s wall.

After countless pictures and videos in a very fluorescent camouflage suit, the company finally revealed the Mercedes-AMG GT in all its glory and what a beautiful form it is. The stylish new AMG GT Coupe gives a faint glimpse the Fangio era of F1 cars, a bit of the 300SL and quite a lot of the SLS AMG in its modern avatar. The AMG GT boasts of a design that gives us an impression of aging very well with time. The tapered front and rear bumpers give more than a peak of the tyres when viewed straight up. What adds to this muscular stance is the SLS AMG inspired wide haunches. The lights of the AMG GT aren’t the best part of the design though. The best angle to view the AMG GT is definitely side-on. The tiny bubbled roof slopes in smoothly to the rear almost as neatly as the gorgeous Jaguar F-type and that’s saying something. 

The interior is a bit of a mixed bag. The unusual four central air-con vents look quite good although excessive for a car with such a small cabin. There’s plenty of leather and alcantara to boast of and the flat bottomed steering wheel looks great, but the centre console seems a bit too busy and not as driver focused in order to get the symmetry right. The nobs are placed suggestive of the V8 engine’s eight cylinder layout but feels like they are one too many. The large wing mirrors placed on the haunches and the thick A-pillar suggest a large blind spot but we’ll know that only once we drive the car.

It’s what the AMG GT packs in upfront is what matters most for any AMG enthusiast though. The company has developed a new 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 that sits behind the front axle and sends power to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual clutch transmission with a locking differential. AMG has said in the past that the V8 will and always has been their mainstay and this engine is their latest that will make it to most future AMG models. This V8 will be offered with two power outputs – a 510PS version with 650Nm of torque in the AMG GT S and a 462PS/600Nm version for the GT.

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AMG says the GT can do the 0-100kmph sprint in 3.7 seconds with a limited top speed of 304kmph and the GT S has a 3.7 second sprint time with a 310kmph limited top speed. The AMG GT gets an aluminium space frame with independent double-wishbone suspension all round and the range topping GT S gets adjustable damping as standard. Dry sump lubrication, ceramic brakes, forged wheels, dynamically adjusting engine and transmission mounts further make the AMG GT track worthy. The AMG GT will take on the Jaguar F-type and the Porsche 911.