.
From a distance this coupe looks to be a Porsche
or Jaguar. It is not. Obviously. The Mercedes-Benz
AMG GT S is, if you couldn't tell, a rapid
transit system built for two. Long of hood
and heritage design, it replaces the gull-winged
SLS that had less tech and cost some 70 grand
more. Making the GT S a bargain, I suppose.
If you have a spare $131,000 lying around you
can buy a base model GT S. As tested, this
one is $171,000. You're in that far might
as well finance the rest)
Those extras include fade free carbon
ceramic brakes, all kinds of carbon
fiber trim and structural bits, plus
an upgraded interior package that looks
for all the world to be from Lord Vader's
TIE fighter. I doubt he's a yellow guy though.
Skip the Solarbeam paint to save nearly 10 grand.
Mercedes is gunning for Porsche 911 and Audi
R8 though they have engines in back. This
4-liter 8-cylinder has two turbos nestled in
the V. Martin, who hand assembled it, would
explain the lack of a traditional oil pan allowed
engineers to drop the engine 2 inches for a
lower center of gravity. Isn't the sound of
503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque
lovely? It's variable. Drive modes
tailor performance, "race" being a bit
much for grocery getting. Engine mounts
are computer controlled for less vibration.
Using the shifter? It's a little bit of
a reach back, a bit awkward.
The rear-mounted 7-speed dual-clutch transmission
delivers this sturm und drang to the back
wheels. The driveshaft is carbon fiber.
Mercedes claims 0-60 sprints happen in
3.7 seconds
Seems like they're being conservative.
Oh, look how fast I'm going...
Only track time can reveal this cars lofty
performance, it cruises without drama at
double the speed limit. Don't ask me how
I know. Certainly I didn't test the top
speed claim of 193 miles an hour. GT S
does not use trendy electric power steering.
It's hydraulic and it's awesome.
One thing you'll notice right
away, the steering is incredible direct,
without being squirrelly.
The faster it goes, the more capable GT S
seems to become. Aerodynamics deploy
automatically at speeds over 75 miles an hour.
I think I'm going to keep that down.
I don't need to attract any more attention to myself...
Gas mileage? Well it's awful of course. But if
that's your concern this is clearly not your car.
You can probably tell from the level of
my voice, this is not as quiet as an S Class.
It's not as cushy of a ride either.
That should come as no surprise.
Even in comfort mode, I'm not sure I'd want
to travel long distance in this car.
You'd certainly arrive quickly though.
Remember, there are carbon ceramic brakes. Whoa. They will stop you all day long.
The cabin is snug for a couple, the panoramic
glass roof would brighten things up. Seats
are infinitely adjustable so there's no
issue there. A wonderful Burmester audio
system is standard, though the engine
sounds even better. Being a Mercedes, the
COMAND user interface is here, there's all
sorts of ways to enter data, including handwriting.
Not just an ultra high performance machine,
GT S is also a practical hatchback.
Kind of. Sort of.
Get the security shade out of the way and
there's room enough for just three packs
of the two-ply. Owners will probably
carry suitcases I'm guessing.
The folks at Mercedes say that AMG
is becoming more involved and important.
For one thing, the division draws a younger
and more affluent group. There are rumors
that it will have somewhat unique products,
not just performance variants. We know
AMG as a tuning division but these days
it is very involved with the products
as they are being conceived.
There's a higher velocity GT R model
on the way if this is not powerful enough.
For those who just love the way the aluminum
panels seem to be poured over the aluminum
space frame chassis, a standard GT will
start at $113,000. And I'll
assume it's hardly pokey. Considering its
looks and performance, the Mercedes-Benz
AMG GT S should fast become a classic.
One cool feature about the twin turbo
engine, the cylinder liners use a proprietary
material called Nanoslide. It makes them twice
as hard as standard cast-iron liners and
reduces friction. It's used in Mercedes
Formula 1 engines. GT S is also available
with those dynamic engine and transmission
mounts mentioned earlier. The front-to-rear
weight distribution is 47-53.
People ask me a lot of questions about
these reviews. No I don't keep all the
TP, as many of you know, Costco lets me
borrow it. But I will stress that Martin
Campbell and I put long hours and a lot
of money into making these look good.
I use five different kind of cameras.
We drove over 100 miles to get to this
location so the car was in its "natural habitat".
And then once we got there, patience was
required, as it often is. Sometimes its
very slow moving traffic that holds us up,
sometimes its just background stuff.
Sometimes it's wind. Also, on this shoot,
I had my first serious drone crash. A
huge gust of wind sent my Phantom 4 into
the power lines that I shouldn't have been
close to. It fell from this height onto
the pavement and survived (but didn't record
the fall for some reason). I quickly checked it
back at home found all was right. Surprisingly durable.
There ya go gang. That is my take on the
2016 Mercedes AMD GT S, a fast fine car
if you can afford it. I know I can't
because, I've quit my day job. Yes, I
have finally quit my job at KING TV in
Seattle and I'm doing the car thing
exclusively that means I have time, finally,
for Twitter and Facebook. So I will talk
to you all day long on Twitter and
Facebook, just look for Driven Car
Reviews, not Tom Voelk, Tom Voelk is
my personal page, trying to keep a
separation between church and state.
But I will talk to you on Driven Car Reviews.
All right?