Fans know what Mercedes-AMG is all about.
Sensation comes first, then speed and finally, lateral grip.
Exciting cars. Yet this is supposed to be a Porsche 911-beater.
A 911 is quick and all, but sharp, too. This, then, is the AMG GT.
The 2nd sports car made by AMG. Sharp like a 911, exciting like an AMG.
Let's find out more about that.
This has a new V8 biturbo. The turbo's are mounted on the inside.
The engine is placed back a lot. The gearbox is mounted on the rear axle.
Weight distribution is 47/53. Almost equal. It's relatively light, too.
It's all-aluminium and weighs 1500 kg, which isn't that bad.
There's some wizardry: dynamic dampers and engine/gearbox mounts.
Those can be adjusted. Hence it should be both quick and comfortable.
This 4.0 is crucial for many future AMG models. And it's amazing.
This AMG GT S has 510 PS and responds directly. And it's bloody quick.
More importantly: the noise. Turbo's, like the old AMG 6.2, can disappoint.
Not this one. Let's hear it.
What an amazing sound! It's dirty and nasty. I love it!
There's a variable exhaust which makes it even louder. Yes!
It's a bit embarrassing. But great, too! Lovely engine.
It's linked to a 7-speed DCT. That used to be a bit slow.
Put it in Race mode to make it sound fiercer and react better.
It holds gears when it needs to and even works with several downshifts.
Using the buttons to put it in hardcore sports mode, it's properly sporty.
A 510 PS RWD car can be risky. But this is very grippy, too.
Within minutes, you befriend it and can dance up and down mountains.
The electro-mechanic LSD, standard on the GT S, works really well.
On public roads, you won't exceed grip levels.
We were on Laguna Seca just now to try that.
There's just so much grip available.
In Comfort mode, it's just fairly comfortable.
Fine on smooth tarmac, but less on rougher roads.
It's more hardcore sports car than GT. It steers directly, too.
It misses the hint of extra feeling you get in a 911.
But it's very focussed and spectacular.
A true winner, even against the 911 in that sense.
Mercedes-AMG's mission was clear: make the best sports car.
A 911-beater? We'll find that out in a test battle later on.
They already did one better: it's as sporty as a 911, yet spectacular like the SLS.
This GT S costs around 165.000 euros. A lot, yet less than a 520 PS 911 Turbo.
So this Mercedes-AMG is a worthy new benchmark.