This car holds the lap record for a rear-wheel-drive production car at the ‘Green Hell’ – the Nürburgring. And now, it even holds the lap record for all production cars at India’s own Buddh International Circuit.
On the outside
Globally, this car is available in four versions – a 476hp standard, 522hp ‘S’, 557hp ‘C’ and 585hp ‘R’. The R, which is the car being tested, is basically a de-tuned DTM race car. This car comes with wider front and rear tracks, active aero flaps at the front, a carbon-fibre roof, lightweight forged alloy wheels, optional carbon-ceramic brakes, a fixed rear wing, a titanium exhaust, a huge rear diffuser, active rear-wheel steering, aggressive bodywork and sports traction control. The ‘Panamericana’ grille is new and is now also standard across the GT range, and so are the aggressive-looking front bumpers.
On the inside
The interiors have seen minor revisions - it’s all black now, with yellow seat belts and contrast stitching. The car even has more Alcantara instead of the earlier leather. The car can also be optioned with a roll cage, four-point seat belts, sportier seats and a fire extinguisher.
From behind the wheel
This car is far more aggressive, in every possible measure. The engine snarls much louder than the GT S ever did, and that’s before you switch to Sport+ or Race mode. Under the hood sits a 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 that makes 585hp and 700Nm of torque, significantly more than the ‘S’. This car isn’t super light, it weighs 1.6 tonnes, but it leaps forward when you put your foot down - as quickly as some of the best super-sports cars money can buy. AMG claims this car takes only 3.6sec to hit 100kph time. As you pick up speed, the motor gets significantly louder and that’s no bad thing – that beautiful AMG soundtrack will always be music to a petrol-head’s ears.
Up to speeds of 100kph, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction as the front wheels, but at speeds beyond that, they move in the same direction up to a maximum of 1.5 degrees. Thanks to this, the car turns in sharply – it’s ability to dive into corners is sublime. The new Traction Control dial set looks straight out of a racing car – it’s got nine LEDs that light up based on the mode you choose.
Is it worth the money?
The AMG GT is available in three versions - the S coupé, Roadster and R coupé. The R may be a bit of a handful for everyday use - it’s a shouty, tail-happy animal if provoked. But, provided you drive it right, there’s oodles of fun to be had. This is the quickest-accelerating, most powerful version of the AMG GT range after all, and is also the sharpest around a track. Plus, at ₹2.23 crore (ex-showroom, India), it's quite resonable by supercar standards.
