His strategy is the epitome of automotive self-confidence or maybe hubris if you’re a competitor or not a fan. All BMWs, from the M3 to the X3 to the i3 are sporting machines this technique says, while Mercedes-Benz automobiles are massive, steady rolling financial institution vaults, and only sporting in that the AMG models make good autobahn-pounding muscle vehicles. But Mercedes-AMG has moved previous that image with the entrance-midengine GT. There’s none of that with the 577-hp Mercedes-AMG GT R coupe, the observe-ready flagship of this sequence, which simply went on sale within the U.S. 113,395. Although this model has been on the U.S. Don’t consider the GT as a “lesser model,” although. The AMG GT is a properly balanced sports automobile, with its 4.0-liter biturbo V-8 placed entrance-midengine and driving the rear wheels by way of a seven-speed twin-clutch transmission. The roads between Paderborn and Bad Driburg have their share of entertaining corners, although they’re not quite as entertaining as the Alpine roads in this part of Europe.
The point here was to get us to the Blister Berg circuit where we may wring out a GT-R with impunity. Makes 469 horsepower and 465 pound-ft. It comes with the AMG Sport Suspension, restricted-slip differential, and AMG Dynamic Select chassis settings. All GTs now come normal with AMG’s Panamericana grille. Boosts the turbo V-8 to make 515 horsepower and 494 pound-toes, adds an AMG Performance exhaust and a Burmeister Surround Sound audio system. The S also adds a “Race” mode to the AMG Dynamic Select system and AMG Ride Control adaptive sport suspension. Also, my tester had the non-compulsory active rear steering, which turns the back wheels up to 1.5-degrees, reverse entrance wheels at low speeds and with the front wheels at larger speeds, up to 62 mph. This was the only convertible AMG GT that I drove. The Edition 50 coupe, celebrating AMG’s founding by Hans-Werner Aufrecht, initially of Grossaspach, and Erhard Melcher, is a beauty bundle and goes on sale within the U.S. Due to a distinct turbocharger on this model, the R makes 577 horsepower and 516 pound-ft of torque.
Forged aluminum wheels are 10 x 19-inches front, 12 x 20-inches rear, one inch wider than on the GT S, and are shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cups. Its adjustable nine-setting AMG Traction Control relies on the GT3 race car. While the AMG GT family options a 510-pound aluminum spaceframe, the R provides plenty of carbon-fiber components, including entrance fenders and a stout carbon-fiber torque tube. It also will get the lithium-ion battery, and the energetic rear steering. On the highway, the 4.0-liter turbo V-eight is easy and plenty powerful in any of its iterations, from 469 horsepower on as much as 550 horsepower, and the car’s handling is forgiving and intuitive. The throttle response is perfectly linear, not in any respect what I’d anticipate from a turbo, and not what you’d get with any of the current crop of high-strung smaller displacement turbo engines. At street speeds, I didn’t come near triggering the stability control, anyway. The single noticeable difference between the base GT, the GT S and GT C is that the latter two were geared up with the rear steering function.
A sensitive backside might detect the rear wheels toeing into turns, steering with the rear wheels without feeling like it might slip right into a drift. On the public roads, there’s no discernable distinction between trip and handling, though of course it does speed up the throttle and shift responses. The usual “comfort” mode continues to be lots stiff, allowing simply sufficient compliance round quick corners, though additionally somewhat firm over street imperfections. Paddling the seven-velocity twin-clutch automated is quick and rewarding below “comfort” and quicker and much more rewarding underneath “sport.” You’ll need to make use of these paddles, connected to the wheel and never the column, as a rule. The steering is adequately gentle and really fast, and the brakes are just what you’d count on, which is to say they will save your hide. This reassures me on the twisty, hilly, technical Blister Berg circuit. Let me set the scene: Knowledgeable race driver leads two journo-pushed cars around the observe for 3-1/2 scorching laps, the last half-lap left for cooling issues down. Mercedes-AMG let us lap in “race” mode.
