Mercedes-AMG GT: The all-new sports car from Affalterbach
Mercedes-AMG has unveiled a powerful new V8 sports car developed entirely in-house.
Designed by a team led by Gorden Wagener, vice president of design, Daimler AG and developed entirely in-house by AMG, led by its chairman, Tobias Moers, the GT is an all-new two-seater sports car mixing the exhilaration expected of an AMG with precision, comfort and practicality.
Mr Wagener says: “The new Mercedes-AMG GT is a sports car in its purest form – breathtaking proportions, powerfully sculpted surfaces and flowing lines turn the new AMG into a contemporary sports car which embodies the spirit of the glorious Mercedes sports cars from the past. The GT is a consummate combination of beauty and intelligence.”
The interior mixes beautiful, high quality materials (nappa leather, carbon and aluminium) with technology – an 8.4-inch central screen featuring COMAND and simple, elegant controls, including the ability to control the exhaust valves via the Dynamic Select button.
Aerodynamic devices are deployed to aid balance and cooling. The rear wing deploys automatically while under the bonnet an adaptive duct feeds cool air into the so-called ‘hot-V’ of the twin turbochargers packaged in the middle of the ‘V’ created by the V8 engine.
Straightforward, fast, beautiful and with a mighty presence, the GT is practical too – it has a hatchback boot and a load space measuring 350 litres.
Built at Sindelfingen, the largely aluminium chassis structure makes it strong and light. The structure weighs 231kg – with strategically placed steel and magnesium components mixed in.
An AMG Dynamic Plus package is available on the GT S. It builds on the standard drivetrain damping to add dynamic engine and transmission mounts that can operate independently of each other. The mounts automatically relax during comfort orientated driving, and tighten up when it’s driven harder and the car senses the requirement.
Standard front brakes on the GT measure 360mm in diameter – on the GT S these grow to 390mm (accompanied by red callipers). The optional ceramic composite items measure 402mm.
The GT is fitted with 255/35 R19 tyres at the front and 295/35 R19 rear tyres. The GT S is equipped with 265/35 R19 tyres at the front and 295/30 R20 tyres at the rear.
Last year in the UK a record 3,127 AMG cars were registered – up forty per cent on 2012.
The GT and GT S arrive in the UK in April 2015, prices will be announced in October.
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