Hi everyone and welcome to the Mercedes-AMG YouTube channel.
I’m Felix, I’m a cross-carline product manager here at Mercedes-AMG
and I’m gonna have the honour to take you
into a new chapter here on the channel.
INSIDE AMG is gonna be the format
that we are trying to establish – where we show you different technical topics
and try to explain them to you.
But we are not just gonna be talking,
we are gonna be driving a lot and we are going to be having a lot of fun.
For instance, with this beauty right here,
the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+ 4-Door Coupé.
So, first order of the day is, we are gonna go to Daimler’s top secret test facility in Immendingen,
and I’d say – we go right now because it’s really cold outside.
So as I’ve said, today is going to be the first chapter of a new era
of the Mercedes-AMG YouTube channel.
We are gonna start off a series called INSIDE AMG.
You’re gonna get to see a lot of content, that you normally wouldn’t.
Exclusive looks behind the scenes – just exciting content overall.
There is a lot to look forward to over the next couple of months.
We are gonna move along the letters of the alphabet.
Starting with the letter A, of course.
Come on, buddy.
Alright.
And the first topic of this series is going to be acceleration.
So, here we are.
Immendingen.
Daimler’s testing facility.
Finally, we have arrived.
Oh yeah, this looks like just the right playground for today.
Back to topic: Acceleration.
And since you guys probably don't wanna listen to me talk all the time,
I’ve invited an expert from Affalterbach today.
She is an engineering expert – also responsible for the RACE START.
And I can already hear her coming.
Right there.
In this beautiful Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Coupé.
Not too bad.
Hi, Linda. Nice car! – Yes. – And a nice outfit. As I see, somehow...
Matching.
So this isn’t the work uniform at Mercedes-AMG, it’s a coincidence.
I’ve now introduced you as an engineer at Mercedes-AMG, who is also jointly responsible
for the RACE START. Is that right?
Yeah, that’s right.
When did you join Mercedes-AMG?
I’ve been with Mercedes-AMG since 2012.
What are you responsible for?
So roughly speaking
it’s the starting and also special starts like the RACE START.
Special starts, that is a nice
understatement for the RACE START. I think it’s cool. Well, then we actually have exactly
the right expertise here today, I would say. What are the external
factors that have an influence on the acceleration?
You might see it on our faces, it’s super cold out here today.
I don’t think it’s even five degrees Celsius. Will that play a role today?
The cold intake air is very good for the engine, that’s what we need
to get a lot of power. We have to try to get as much temperature as possible
into the tyres. Warm tyres have more grip and are
also more elastic than a hard, cold tyre. It’s not just the temperature, of course, but also the width.
The wider the tyres, the more grip you’ll have on the road and you’ll be able to
get the best acceleration.
Simply speaking, more contact surface is always good. Wider tyres means more grip?
Right.
Very cool.
Besides that, we luckily have a dry surface.
That also plays a big role. On wet asphalt the wheels can slip through quickly
and then you can’t take the full momentum.
We also have the duel between four-wheel drive
against two-wheel drive. What do you think? Which car will have the better chances?
The all-wheel drive!
The all-wheel drive?
Yes, definitely!
The all-wheel drive in any case.
What exactly happens during the RACE START?
The car is prestressed,
the rear axle transmission locks completely, the all-wheel drive pushes as much momentum as possible
to the front, so that we can release the momentum at all four wheels.
The engine is brought up to speed and
can of course be started from the first turn to full throttle.
Almost like a slingshot.
Exactly, yes. You can imagine it that way.
So you can expect quite a kick in your back? Indeed. Rear-wheel drive against all-wheel drive
is not the only challenge that we will have here today, but also the duel
man versus machine. Today I take on the challenge to beat the RACE START.
Accelerating faster, only with
my own modest driving abilities.
What are my chances?
Bad!
Never mind...
You can try, but I think you’re gonna lose.
We’ll take a seat in the car, on the one hand because it’s cold, but on the other hand because
I want to have a look at how this RACE START activation works.
Exactly.
We’re going to take acceleration measurements. Since we already have the right equipment on board,
I would say that we do that directly with TRACK PACE.
What do I have to do now in order to activate the RACE START?
You can activate RACE START in Sport, Sport+ and Race mode.
I would say, we go
all in and set it to Race mode.
Exactly.
So I put my left foot on the brake. And now?
Exactly, and with the right foot full throttle.
So just full on the gas?
Exactly.
Okay. Let’s directly save the measurement.
The tyres are not optimally on temperature yet.
Between 11 and 18 degrees Celsius... probably not the perfect temperature.
I would suggest we do another one or two RACE STARTs and see how the times develop.
Wow! 1.46 seconds from 0 to 50 km/h! The tyres are now slightly warmer than
before, and we’ve already seen a real improvement.
But there’s more in it!
That definitely felt better already!
I think that was pretty fast!
So, we have now managed 3.29 seconds with the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+.
It’s been pretty good already. If the tyres were a little bit warmer, we probably would have beaten it.
There probably still would have been one or two hundredth in there. But 3.2 seconds is
not bad for a start. Four-wheel drive with RACE START is now our
benchmark time. Now let's have a look what we can do with a two-wheel drive
with RACE START. I’d say that you take the wheel this time.
Sure.
RACE START with rear-wheel drive?
Yes.
I am curious how this differs from the
Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+. Go for it!
Alright, alright! But as with the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+, you really notice how the RACE START works.
It’s like a tense muscle and as soon as you
leave the brake pedal, it goes brutally forward. That’s awesome!
We took a wrong turn. Let’s drive around this way again.
I think we’re gonna get better times
if we get a little more temperature into the tyres.
I’d say we try that just a couple more times now because it’s fun too!
4.19! I would say... that’s our time.
Alright. So now we have seen what the RACE START can do:
accelerate this car as efficiently as possible from 0–100 km/h.
What we are gonna try now is switch off ESP
and see if we can get those 510 PS as unfiltered as possible to the rear wheels.
Okay, that was impressive! On the one hand to see what the RACE START can do in general,
but also to see what the RACE START can do in a two-wheel drive vehicle.
Really not bad! But then comparing it to unfiltered 510 PS on the rear axle
without the RACE START, without everything. That was so much fun. But I would say now we make it a little bit more interesting.
I’m gonna take the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé, without RACE START and just manual gearshift.
You will be in the Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupé , with RACE START.
Do you think I have a chance?
Let’s see.
I missed the start. That was bad.
I really think if I get a little better on the gearshift,
I could really have a chance against you.
Yes, you will have to try a little harder!
Let’s try that again right now!
I’ve just got you at the end by a hair’s width.
Damn it!
Okay, maybe I cheated a little bit on the start, maybe you were also a little bit
slower than the times before.
Could be.
But if everything runs normally, wow, without RACE START
I had no chance against you at all. It’s very impressive what the technology can do!
Cool! Thanks for being here with us today.
You’re welcome!
It was really a lot of fun!
For me too!
So there you have it.
There is pretty much no replacement for the RACE START as we have proven.
Today we have seen a lot of different things concerning acceleration:
all the outside factors that we can’t influence. That play a role.
Our own abilities that of course also play a role, that we can influence.
And that the technology is very evolved,
especially with the RACE START.
No matter if it is a four-wheel-drive
or if it is a two-wheel-drive:
the RACE START – well, when it comes to acceleration
there is no better way to get from 0–100 km/h.
That wraps up the first episode of INSIDE AMG.
If you have liked what you have seen,
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what you would like us to shoot next.
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Until the next time.
See you!