MERCEDES-AMG CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF AMG
AMG has a history that stretches back 50 years and, the company founded by Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher, has evolved into one of the most impressive and successful performance sports car brands. A family of vehicles renown for their driving performance and equally impressive design.
While there is an AMG version of almost every class of Mercedes, we're going to focus on the Mercedes-AMG GT siblings. Built entirely in-house, they comprise eight beautiful models – four series production copués, two series production roadsters and two-sport racing cars – and they all embrace inherited themes.
Each GT is powered by a 4.0 litre V8 bi-turbo engine – built on the “one man, one engine” philosophy, which means that each engine is hand-crafted by one engine builder. Mated to a seven-speed dual clutch transmission and sports suspension with aluminium double wishbone axles, power delivery is highly dynamic and the ride is firm yet composed. The collection has a sleek and aerodynamic form where the long, low-slung and power dome-adorning front end is paired with a dramatically tapered roof line.
The Mercedes-AMG GT coupé features the same front mid-engine layout, transaxle transmission configuration, low centre of gravity and lightweight construction as the rest of the family. The mighty V8 packs 476 horsepower and a max torque of 630 Nm. All these characteristics ensure that the sports car delivers an extremely agile performance.
The Mercedes-AMG GT S, as its name suggests, is the sportier version of the car. This driving experience starts with 522 horsepower and 670 Nm that is combined with the AMG high-performance compound brake system, the magnificently sounding AMG performance exhaust, and the AMG RIDE CONTROL suspension that adjusts dampening for three settings: Comfort, Sport and Sport-Plus.
The exterior details are more distinguished to emphasize the model’s dynamism, including the 20-inch, 10-spoke light-alloy wheels and red painted brake callipers. This continues to the interior where exclusive elements, such as the AMG instrument cluster and DINAMICA microfiber steering wheel, are fitted.
The third power level within the car collection is the Mercedes-AMG GT C Edition 50, which delivers a sturdy 557 horsepower and peak torque of 680 Nm. This is not only merged with the AMG Performance exhaust system and AMG RIDE CONTROL sports suspension but also with the adaptive damping system, active rear-axle steering and larger compound brakes. It ensures that this limited edition produces stable handling at high speeds and great agility at low speeds. The tail end of the ‘GT C’ has a 57 mm wider track and larger wheels, and the interior features even more exclusive appointments with Nappa leather adorning the steering wheel and dashboard details.
The final production series coupé, the Mercedes-AMG GT R is effectively a racing car that meets the requirements to be dubbed 'road-legal'. It features a whopping 585 horsepower and 700 Nm of torque and the experience is further enhanced by its exterior which is composed of lightweight carbon fibre and titanium parts and an active aerodynamic profile.
If it's an open-air experience you're in the mood for then the Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster is for you. For those rainy days, the soft top is made from a lightweight construction – ensuring the overall centre of gravity remains low – and can open or close in just 11 seconds. Because of this, the Roadster's construction differs to the coupé in certain aspects. It's composed of an aluminium spaceframe and body, as well as a reinforced bodyshell structure of thicker walls, more chambers and additional struts. This ensures that, together with the 476 hp and 630 Nm on offer, it performs just as impressively as the other models while the fresh-air flows through your hair.
Building upon this open-top experience, the Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster adopts many of its hard-top brethren's performance components to deliver even higher power. To start with, the V8 bi-turbo engine has the same output of 557 hp and 680 Nm as the Mercedes-AMG GT C Edition 50. It also enhances the AMG RIDE CONTROL sports suspension with an adaptive damping system, AMG rear-axle steering, larger front brakes, and dynamic handling control with a built-in RACE mode. If that doesn’t highlight the special nature of this car, then the exterior and especially the interior will. As per the hard-top variant, the ‘GT C’ has had its tail end widen in order to offer improved traction, and its cabin too is embellished with exclusive Nappa leather.
Composed of six production models, the Mercedes-AMG GT collection differs ever so slightly from each other but they showcase just enough modifications to be perfectly tailored to an individual’s needs, whilst still conveying the renown GT-genes overall But, just like having that favourite child, the limited edition ‘GT C’ still stands out as something special within this most spectacular family.
Indulge in the gallery above for one of Mercedes-AMG's most enigmatic designs out the video to see the Mercedes-AMG GT R do a hot lap of the Nordschleife!