The all-new 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S is an
achievement of intense passion and beauty for the senses: breathtaking
performance, scene-stealing looks, and a growl that intimidates the road
itself.
Born on the racetrack by the AMG engineers in Affalterbach, it features an all-new AMG 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine and a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, delivering a 0-to-60 time of 3.7 seconds (preliminary). Low bodyweight and lightning-fast power transfers mean cornering is thrillingly sharp, with the Mercedes-AMG GT S setting new standards for precise, dynamic performance.
The interior is the next expression of our "aviation design" theme, featuring a powerful wing-like dashboard, four central spotlight-style vents and a dominant center console. And everywhere you look and touch, the finest materials and craftsmanship exude the quality and exclusivity that only Mercedes-AMG can provide.
The all-new Mercedes-AMG GT S arrives in Spring 2015.
Born on the racetrack by the AMG engineers in Affalterbach, it features an all-new AMG 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine and a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, delivering a 0-to-60 time of 3.7 seconds (preliminary). Low bodyweight and lightning-fast power transfers mean cornering is thrillingly sharp, with the Mercedes-AMG GT S setting new standards for precise, dynamic performance.
The interior is the next expression of our "aviation design" theme, featuring a powerful wing-like dashboard, four central spotlight-style vents and a dominant center console. And everywhere you look and touch, the finest materials and craftsmanship exude the quality and exclusivity that only Mercedes-AMG can provide.
The all-new Mercedes-AMG GT S arrives in Spring 2015.
Key Highlights
- Handbuilt AMG 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine - the world's first sports car engine with the turbos inside the V of the engine and dry sump lubrication
- 0-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds (preliminary); 193 mph top speed
- 7-speed dual-clutch transmission with electronically controlled limited slip differential
- AMG Dynamic Exhaust System with electronically controlled variable vane
- AMG Dynamic suspension
- AMG DYNAMIC SELECT with multiple driver selectable suspension and steering modes
- AMG Performance steering wheel with shift paddles
- High-quality Nappa leather
- Numerous trim options, including silver chrome, matte carbon fiber, high-gloss carbon fiber, black diamond and matte silver fiberglass
- Advanced safety technologies, including COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS, Adaptive Braking technology, ATTENTION ASSIST, PARKTRONIC, Rearview Camera, and the PRE-SAFE® system
- Optional Lane Keeping Assist and Blind Spot Assist.
While the gullwings are no longer part of the design, the new Mercedes-AMG GT S is still set to swoop in and snag buyers away from its archnemesis, the Porsche 911. Based on the previous SLS, it has lost weight and gains a real trunk with room for two golf bags. Power comes from a new, 503-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 with a seven-speed automatic; expect a 0-60-mph time of about 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 193 mph. The AMG GT S debuts in spring 2015 and a milder GT with 456 hp in 2016.
Utterly different from the 911 in its layout and specification, the AMG
GT S nonetheless takes to the road and the track much like its nemesis.
It also borrows a lesson or two from the 911’s history, namely:
evolution.
Rather than start with a blank sheet for the car that supplants the SLS AMG GT, the team at AMG used much of the previous car’s structure for the AMG GT S (and, coming in 2016, the slightly less powerful AMG GT). The passenger cell is essentially identical, aside from the substitution of normal doors for the previous gullwings; the nose is about 50mm shorter, and the rear end has been tightened up visually, but is functionally the same.
With such a similar starting point, you might think the AMG GT is just a warmed-over version of the SLS. You’d be wrong.
The new engine sits further back, the shorter nose puts the moment of inertia closer to the driver’s centerline, and the improved rear end (especially the electronic locking differential) make for vastly different—and improved—handling characteristics.
Rather than start with a blank sheet for the car that supplants the SLS AMG GT, the team at AMG used much of the previous car’s structure for the AMG GT S (and, coming in 2016, the slightly less powerful AMG GT). The passenger cell is essentially identical, aside from the substitution of normal doors for the previous gullwings; the nose is about 50mm shorter, and the rear end has been tightened up visually, but is functionally the same.
With such a similar starting point, you might think the AMG GT is just a warmed-over version of the SLS. You’d be wrong.
The new engine sits further back, the shorter nose puts the moment of inertia closer to the driver’s centerline, and the improved rear end (especially the electronic locking differential) make for vastly different—and improved—handling characteristics.
Gone is the tendency of the SLS to hang its tail out at every mild
provocation. In its place is a supreme level of balance; the driver can
steer the AMG GT S with the wheel or the pedals, at will.
Speaking of the steering wheel, the feedback received through its thick-rimmed structure is, quite surprisingly, marvelous. There’s more feel and more feedback than in any electric power steering vehicle we’ve driven, up to and including the Porsche 911 (though it’s about on par with the rather marvelous feel of the 981 Boxster/Cayman duo). Part of the AMG GT S's charm is owed to the Dynamic Plus package, which includes active engine and differential mounts, which help freeze the pendulum effect of the drivetrain in hard cornering, one of the things which contributed to the oversteer tendencies of the SLS. Thanks to their active status, however, the enhanced mounts don't equate to more noise and vibration in normal driving.
Normally, prior to the launch of an important vehicle, manufacturers assemble a jet-lagged mob of scriveners for an every-last-detail PowerPoint presentation. AMG was so confident that the new GT S would speak for itself, it simply gave us a quick route briefing and sent us scuttling out the door and down the San Francisco Peninsula toward Monterey in this, the final-spec version of its latest halo product.
Make no mistake: Despite the fact that the GT S is likely to cost two-thirds as much as AMG’s most expensive offering, the S65 coupe—final pricing has yet to be released for either car—the car we’re discussing here serves as the brand’s calling card.
At the end of the day, after a couple of hours spent lobbing the car around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, AMG CEO Tobias Moers gathered our g-force-addled bunch, offered a few remarks about the car, and casually noted that a 1:41 lap was a pretty good time for a session that saw us restricted to lead-follow lapping behind instructors. For reference, 1:41 is the sort of time a solo racing driver in full time-attack mode lays down around Laguna in something like a Porsche Cayman S. The point is this: The GT S turned a similar time during what amounted to an exceptionally spirited Sunday drive.
Yet the sensation of speed in this, the car with which Daimler hopes to take a chunk out of Porsche’s Neunelfer Zwiebelkuchen, is muted. One does not quite realize the sheer velocities attainable until the right foot attempts to extricate itself from the floorboard just ahead of the crest marking the end of the front straight. Or until one experiences the forces acting upon the car when slowing for the Andretti Hairpin. Point, squirt, brake, repeat: The result is subdued violence all the way around the course. Atop the Corkscrew, the long hood and low windshield header conspire against sightlines. The quick and sure turn-in, paired with predictable front-end grip, more than make up for those shortcomings after a couple of laps.
The twin-turbo 4.0-liter M178 V-8 dispenses with the grunty, naturally aspirated honk-’n’-braaaap hoedown that the late, lamented C63 Black Series offered. Home taping is killing music, turbocharging is killing engines’ auditory esprit d’guerre. Despite Moers’s hatred of BMW’s current MP3 soundtracks—notwithstanding his laudable intent to let an engine be what it is—the 503-hp, 3600-pound GT S never gives you that side-of-beef-to-the-chest whump offered up by, say, the big-bore Corvette Stingray. The AMG just accelerates. We predict 60 mph will arrive in 3.5 seconds. Given enough room, AMG says it will continue to build speed until the car hits 193.
Chuck everything you remember about Mercedes-Benz steering. Imagine the tactility of a nice manual rack, then picture it boosted to the point that there’s just enough feel left. The wheel saws easily from left to right. The automobile is incredibly quick to follow these orders. The tiller reminds us a bit of the McLaren 650S’s, if the Woking-bred supercar’s had spent the past 24 hours pulling helium-tank keg stands.
The supercharged V-8–powered Jag F-type R is a loutish hooligan of a thing, a straight-outta-Albion wide boy happy to throw the odd elbow to make his point. In contrast, the GT S makes like the handsome, stern Teuton in the corner, prepared to dispatch interlopers with understatement, efficiency, and extreme prejudice. The AMG offers prowess and competence but something just short of unfettered joy. Rewarding as hell? Yes. Satisfying? Of course.
Speaking of the steering wheel, the feedback received through its thick-rimmed structure is, quite surprisingly, marvelous. There’s more feel and more feedback than in any electric power steering vehicle we’ve driven, up to and including the Porsche 911 (though it’s about on par with the rather marvelous feel of the 981 Boxster/Cayman duo). Part of the AMG GT S's charm is owed to the Dynamic Plus package, which includes active engine and differential mounts, which help freeze the pendulum effect of the drivetrain in hard cornering, one of the things which contributed to the oversteer tendencies of the SLS. Thanks to their active status, however, the enhanced mounts don't equate to more noise and vibration in normal driving.
Normally, prior to the launch of an important vehicle, manufacturers assemble a jet-lagged mob of scriveners for an every-last-detail PowerPoint presentation. AMG was so confident that the new GT S would speak for itself, it simply gave us a quick route briefing and sent us scuttling out the door and down the San Francisco Peninsula toward Monterey in this, the final-spec version of its latest halo product.
Make no mistake: Despite the fact that the GT S is likely to cost two-thirds as much as AMG’s most expensive offering, the S65 coupe—final pricing has yet to be released for either car—the car we’re discussing here serves as the brand’s calling card.
At the end of the day, after a couple of hours spent lobbing the car around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, AMG CEO Tobias Moers gathered our g-force-addled bunch, offered a few remarks about the car, and casually noted that a 1:41 lap was a pretty good time for a session that saw us restricted to lead-follow lapping behind instructors. For reference, 1:41 is the sort of time a solo racing driver in full time-attack mode lays down around Laguna in something like a Porsche Cayman S. The point is this: The GT S turned a similar time during what amounted to an exceptionally spirited Sunday drive.
Yet the sensation of speed in this, the car with which Daimler hopes to take a chunk out of Porsche’s Neunelfer Zwiebelkuchen, is muted. One does not quite realize the sheer velocities attainable until the right foot attempts to extricate itself from the floorboard just ahead of the crest marking the end of the front straight. Or until one experiences the forces acting upon the car when slowing for the Andretti Hairpin. Point, squirt, brake, repeat: The result is subdued violence all the way around the course. Atop the Corkscrew, the long hood and low windshield header conspire against sightlines. The quick and sure turn-in, paired with predictable front-end grip, more than make up for those shortcomings after a couple of laps.
The twin-turbo 4.0-liter M178 V-8 dispenses with the grunty, naturally aspirated honk-’n’-braaaap hoedown that the late, lamented C63 Black Series offered. Home taping is killing music, turbocharging is killing engines’ auditory esprit d’guerre. Despite Moers’s hatred of BMW’s current MP3 soundtracks—notwithstanding his laudable intent to let an engine be what it is—the 503-hp, 3600-pound GT S never gives you that side-of-beef-to-the-chest whump offered up by, say, the big-bore Corvette Stingray. The AMG just accelerates. We predict 60 mph will arrive in 3.5 seconds. Given enough room, AMG says it will continue to build speed until the car hits 193.
Chuck everything you remember about Mercedes-Benz steering. Imagine the tactility of a nice manual rack, then picture it boosted to the point that there’s just enough feel left. The wheel saws easily from left to right. The automobile is incredibly quick to follow these orders. The tiller reminds us a bit of the McLaren 650S’s, if the Woking-bred supercar’s had spent the past 24 hours pulling helium-tank keg stands.
The supercharged V-8–powered Jag F-type R is a loutish hooligan of a thing, a straight-outta-Albion wide boy happy to throw the odd elbow to make his point. In contrast, the GT S makes like the handsome, stern Teuton in the corner, prepared to dispatch interlopers with understatement, efficiency, and extreme prejudice. The AMG offers prowess and competence but something just short of unfettered joy. Rewarding as hell? Yes. Satisfying? Of course.
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