After months of teasing, the covers have finally been pulled off the Mercedes-AMG GT. No, not a Mercedes-Benz – this is the in-house tuning brand’s first car under its name, although it is the second one it has developed from the ground up after the SLS AMG.
It’s easy to pigeonhole the new car as another SLS, so similar are its stretched-out proportions and much of the design. Look deeper, however, and you’ll find some differences that mark out the two. Gone, for example, are the SLS’ gullwing doors, replaced by more conventional items.
The front fascia features a large grille flanked by SL-esque LED High Performance headlamps, with gaping air inlets featuring prominently under them. Moving back, the bodyside is relatively clean, save for sizeable fender vents and an upswept line lower down. At the rear, there are flat, wide tail lamps with sequential turn signals, an retractable rear spoiler and a large diffuser design with integrated twin exhaust exits.
Mercedes has shown the interior before, and it’s just as gorgeous now as it was then. The wing shaped upper dashboard encapsulates the brace of circular air vents and the free-standing central screen.
A large tall centre console flows down in an arch, with the climate controls, the COMAND infotainment system controller and the gear lever grouped in a central funnel shaped like a NACA air intake. Flanking them are the AMG Drive Unit controls, eight of them arranged in a V to mimic the V8’s cylinder layout.
That V8 is a 4.0 litre twin turbo unit, downsized from the previous 5.5 litre mill used elsewhere in the AMG lineup. Dubbed the M178, it features a dry sump and its two turbines are arranged inside the V configuration similar to BMW turbo engines. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT dual-clutch transmission.
The result is 456 hp at 6,000 rpm and 600 Nm from 1,600 to 5,000 rpm, enough to accelerate the GT from 0-100 km/h in 4.0 seconds and to a limited top speed of 308 km/h. Not enough firepower for you? There’s also a GT S model that kicks out 503 hp at 6,250 rpm and 650 Nm from 1,700 to 4,750 rpm. The 0-100 km/h sprint is now cut down to 3.8 seconds and the (still limited) top speed is now 310 km/h.
Under the skin, there’s an spaceframe chassis with an over 90% aluminium quotient, with only the boot lid made from steel, while the front “deck” is made from magnesium to reduce inertia ahead of the front axle. As a result, the bodyshell weighs just 231 kg, and the car itself weighs just 1,540 kg (1,570 kg for the GT S). Suspension is aluminium double wishbones all around, and the weight distribution is 47:53 front to rear.
The options list is broad, expansive and almost certainly expensive, with an AMG performance exhaust with fully variable flaps, AMG Ride Control electronically-variable damping, ceramic composite brakes, forged cross-spoke wheels, a barrage of safety equipment including Adaptive Highbram Assist, PRE-SAFE, Parktronic, a reverse camera, a Lane Tracking package and Traffic Sign Assist, as well as a host of interior trim choices including carbon fibre, matte silver fibreglass and something called Black Diamond.
The GT S model gets the louder exhaust and adaptive damping as standard, as well as an electronic locking differential as opposed to the regular model’s mechanical unit. An option reserved for the more powerful variant is the Dynamic Plus package which include dynamic engine and transmission mounts, a “Race” mode for the AMG Dynamic Select system, stiffer suspension, higher negative camber on the front wheels as well as sports speed-sensitive steering.
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So beautiful la wei…gonna fap for it
Look at that engine bay, it’s like having 2 units of engine !!
It’ll be nice if they can come up with something that handles well, but with a more efficient, more nimble engine than a V8 for the other drivers.
Maybe have to look at Mazda to come up with something along the same sporty lines. Perhaps next RX-7/8.
Abso-frikkin-lutely sensational
looking very dramatic and exotic to me. won’t outsell the 911, but definitely more exclusive and maybe even has better value than 911.
Seksi gila!!
It definitely will.
has the looks of 60s Italian Gran Turismo cars.
From the proportion we know this car cant beat 911 dynamics but it win on luxurious and FC
Goodness me THAT DASH!
Just awesome….i do agree 911 shouldnt b worried bt having this as an alternative is jus fabulous…..
Really surprised…this jus might b the best looking merc curently
Wow that dash too! So many stuffs going on there. LOST!
Interior looks along the lines of the current mercs except helluva lot more buttons.Exterior…just beautifully sleek..
Like a futuristic SLK, it’s strictly a wife car.
Mmm, no. Nothing original nor inspired about the design – too many borrowed elements from other sports cars like Jag, Porsche, Chrysler Viper etc. Only US and Gulf States enthusiasts will buy.
A beauty. Probably cause Porsche to come out with a better opponent, at least in terms of appearance. Good for the customer..
the turboes are not in the V, they are behind the engine!
the turbo inside the ‘v’
The supposedly SLS successor, is suprisingly has gone backwards in terms of engine horsepower.I’m a bit dissapointed actually ,because I thought this new AMG GT could at least match the hp of the outgoing SLS (highest spec std AMG GT S could only muster 500 bhp vs std AMG SLS which churns out 570+bhp).The Merc SLS was a competitor to the Ferrari 458 Italia, Mclaren MP412C/650S, Audi R8 & the outgoing Lambo Gallardo, all these cars have at least more than 560bhp at their disposal, so it’s a strange move by Mercedes AMG with their latest halo car. But I think this could be due to the change of bussiness strategy from the Merc AMG top bosses , that is targeting the Porsche 911 market which could be the highest volume selling mid-range supercar in the market (but still the 911 Turbo is more powerful than the Merc AMG GT S car!).
I don’t think that this AMG GT is a successor to SLS, but this is a smaller GT car from Mercedes. Nicknamed as baby SLS during its R&D period.
I believe this AMG GT could be a more nimble competitor for 911, with more accessible power. Nevertheless, the handling of SLS is of course sporty enough, but just let the SLS be the flagship model, along with 911 Turbo S, Ferrari F12 and Lambo Aventador. But this AMG GT will be a more agile sports car together with 911 Carrera S, 911 GT3, Ferrari 458 Italia, Audi R8 GT, Lambo Gallardo Superleggera and Lambo Huracan.
It certainly very beautiful and more head-turning.Its handling should be more agile and sharper as well. But it will have some hard time to keep up with the other sportscar big boys on the straight.Anyway, that 4 liter V8 turbo certainly got a big potential (600bhp should be easy).
it is only at the very beginning stage of its full production, mind you. that can only mean one thing: more powerful variant is definitely on the way! it’s a norm for any car manufacturer to not show what they are capable of in one go…..so i think all those more powerful competitors should be worried.
and who knows, AMG will have a full electric version of this GT and the power output is way above all the other competitors? it’s not just about petrol power these days, you know….
yumyum….time to replace my SLS
Yes.. this is the time to replace my suzuki swift..yeahh
The tail lights look like Porsche Macan
From the three quarter rear view, if you shorten the bonnet, it’s a 911.
0-100 4s, still cannot kill the bull…
Welcome aboard bro…
yours sincerely,
911
4 aircond vents at the centre for a 2 seater..wow, just wow