When Mercedes-AMG dropped the insane SLS from its range, many fans shed a little tear. The SLS was enormous, expensive and about as discreet as a grenade launcher, but it was a truly special range-topper for the Mercedes range.
Then the new Mercedes-AMG GT came along – smaller, cheaper, and with less theatre thanks to conventionally opening doors, it nevertheless continued to fly the flag for front-engined supercars and in time has become a serious contender in a market flooded with Porsche 911s and Audi R8s.
And just like the 911, the AMG GT has spawned more focused, track-ready variants, and the peak of this is the hardcore AMG GT R.
Aimed squarely at the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Mercedes claims it’s as close to a race car for the road as it’s ever made. At least, until the Project One arrives…
Here are some essential facts you have to know about the Mercedes-AMG GT R…
1. It’s as fast as you’d expect
Adding power to a supercar has long been a good recipe to increase its speed, so it’s no surprise to find that Mercedes-AMG has fitted one of it’s more sophisticated powertrains to the GT R.
It packs a handcrafted 4.0-litre V8 engine, with two turbochargers placed in the ‘vee’ of the cylinders for better response. It makes an incredible 577bhp, good for a 0-60mph sprint of under 3.5 seconds.
Top speed is just shy of the magic 200mph mark but all the way there, you’ll be amazed at the brutality of that marvellous engine.
2. Comfort is very much an afterthought
Though the Mercedes-AMG GT R does have a ‘comfort’ mode, it’s still more hardcore than many other cars are on their most ferocious settings.
Unashamedly stiff, super sharp steering and a fantastic amount of noise from the engine mean this is definitely not a grand tourer in the same vein as the Aston Martin DB11 V8.
That’s not to say it’s totally unusable – the suspension does take the worst edge off bumps, and the race seats are fantastic.
3. It flies the flag for front-engined supercars
The GT R sits very much in its own little world when it comes to rivals. In terms of price and performance, it seems to rival cars like the McLaren 570S, Audi R8 and various iterations of the Porsche 911 – but none of them keep their engines in front of the driver.
In that sense, you could consider the Merc a rival to cars like the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Dodge Viper ACR (sadly discontinued) or Nissan GT-R Nismo.
Either that, or consider it a half-priced Ferrari 812 Superfast.
4. It’s a true AMG
AMG’s philosophies are alive and well in the GT R – particularly the ‘one man, one engine’ policy, which means each AMG engine is worked on by a single technician from start to finish.
Other AMG hallmarks include ‘form follows performance’ – easy to see on the GT R, where aerodynamic and performance additions are seemingly applied with a trowel.
AMG claims that even when stationary, its vehicles are ‘explicit about their true purpose’ – driving performance.
5. It’s been honed at the Nurburgring
More and more car manufacturers are choosing the Nurburgring to develop and fine-tune their cars, especially performance models. AMG is no exception, and the GT R is a Nurburgring veteran.
While there’s very little regulation of Nurburgring lap times, the GT R’s 7:10.9 is deeply impressive, and comes in almost four seconds faster than a Lexus LFA fitted with the Nurburgring package.
The GT R has had the Nurburgring in its sights from the beginning, and its incredible lap time proves that.
6. It’ll cost you a bundle… but it’s still cheaper than you might think
The AMG GT R starts from £140,545 – a pretty penny, and over £40,000 more expensive than its non-R sibling. But to look at the car’s price would be doing it a disservice.
Porsche’s 911 GT3 RS may have been cheaper to buy when new, starting from £131,296 – but it’s famously difficult to get hold of, and buyers often pay vastly inflated sums just to own one. Even now, used prices flit around the £200,000 mark.
Compare it to its mid-engined brethren and the GT R’s case gets even easier to justify. The McLaren 570S and Audi R8 V10 Plus skate just either side of the AMG – at £145k and £135k respectively. So expensive it may be, but the GT R is no more pricey to own than its main rivals.