[Wolfinwolfsclothing]

Originally Posted by BlackJetE90

That is the incorrect curb weight. AMG has stated the GT is 1540kg or 3,395lbs, GT-S weighs in at 1570 or 3,461lbs.

It doesn't weigh 3,600lbs, as Wolf is trying to state. The bigger SLS AMG GT curb weight is 3,571lbs. The new AMG-GT is a smaller car, 991 size.

Heres curb weight on tested cars for the SLS AMG I found quickly.

3710 lbs
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...es_first_test/

3723 lbs
http://www.caranddriver.com/mercedes-benz/sls-amg

[BMW269]

So for me AMG GT is not on par with 911, but 911 is overrated (not the only one).

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by Wolfinwolfsclothing

Heres curb weight on tested cars for the SLS AMG I found quickly.

3710 lbs
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...es_first_test/

3723 lbs
http://www.caranddriver.com/mercedes-benz/sls-amg

The SLS is an entirely different car than the GT. Unless you were trying to illustrate how the new GT weighs less.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by Levi

So for me AMG GT is not on par with 911, but 911 is overrated (not the only one).

Out of curiosity, what are you basing that opinion on?

I know that for me, I would not be able to reach a similar determination without having driven both cars (preferably back-to-back).

[F1Venom]

Yes please.

[F1Venom]

Looks awesome in these shots (if they post)

[BMW269]

Originally Posted by ybbiz34

Out of curiosity, what are you basing that opinion on?

I know that for me, I would not be able to reach a similar determination without having driven both cars (preferably back-to-back).

Simply because the 911 needs less input (engine) to deliver as much if not more output (performance). Tells how effective and efficient the 911 is.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by Levi

Simply because the 911 needs less input (engine) to deliver as much if not more output (performance). Tells how effective and efficient the 911 is.

You said the 911 is overrated and he asked you to explain how you came to that conclusion and you said "it's effective and efficient". The two comments sound completely contradictory.

[Wolfinwolfsclothing]

Originally Posted by ybbiz34

Out of curiosity, what are you basing that opinion on?

I know that for me, I would not be able to reach a similar determination without having driven both cars (preferably back-to-back).

I was demonstrating that he claimed the SLS was much lighter than what Mercedes 'claimed'. They claimed 35XX lbs but in reality it was 37XX lbs. I am willing to bet the AMG GT, while different than the SLS will still be 250-300 lbs more than a 911 and again, that alone will hamper is significantly. It will likely weight 150-200 lbs more than Mercedes claims. Lets also not forget that BMW claimed the M3/4 weighed 3306 lbs too and where did that end up? Oh yea, 3600. Different manuf. same game. Hell, Porsche says a 991 is 3100 lbs, and we all know its 3300.

Again, its priced in the market at a place it simply wont succeed in terms of performance, and IMO looks. I like the looks, hell the rear and side 3/4 looks exactly like a 911, but it still doenst look quite as nice as a 991, and certainly doesnt look nearly as good as a GT3, GTS or turbo.

We'll see what happens when the reviews come out but I dont see this as a 911 fighter. Jaguar said the same and that car cant hold its own next to a 911 or Cayman. Mercedes wont fair much better.

[attila]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Now now, let's not go calling those things rear seats like they actually hold people. The 991 might be the first one that I could possibly wedge a forward facing kid seat behind myself with. I'm only 6'1", but I still manage to park the front seat against the rear seat in 997's and earlier.

To me those are "real" rear seats. They can legally hold a kid from school to home. Sometimes - quite often - I need to take both kids home. I cannot do that with the AMG-GT or with any true two seat only sport car. I am not talking about a cross country road trip just a few minutes drive in town.

[attila]

I am not big on how the 911 looks. Nor was I absolutely convinced about their driving dynamics. The new (991) 911 is much more planted than the older gens were not including the GT3(RS) models. I have never spun so many times and so fast without being able to explain what a f^%*%%^* just happened than in my RS. Even after correcting the rear suspension geometry, the LSD the car is still very susceptible to tire pressure and still surprise me time to time. I am not a pro, but if someone would want me to race in any racing series the 911 would not be my first choice (not even in the top 3) The Caymans are easier to handle, and the Cayman interseries cars are almost as quick as my RS on our local track.
On the road all this does not matter as much.
So in my opinion the GT can be a challenge for the 911.

[BMW269]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

You said the 911 is overrated and he asked you to explain how you came to that conclusion and you said "it's effective and efficient". The two comments sound completely contradictory.

Haha true. What I said was meant only for the first part of my comment (not on par). For the second part, because of Cayman, which is even better.

[F1Venom]

I prefer the Cayman S and GTS to the 911 (barring the Turbo and GT3). I can't wait until Porsche comes out with the Cayman GT4.
As for Mercedes, this car will be a huge hit. I definitely see Porsche losing a significant amount of sales to it.

[Wolfinwolfsclothing]

Originally Posted by F1Venom

I prefer the Cayman S and GTS to the 911 (barring the Turbo and GT3). I can't wait until Porsche comes out with the Cayman GT4.
As for Mercedes, this car will be a huge hit. I definitely see Porsche losing a significant amount of sales to it.

LOL.

People who drive 911s have no interest in AMG. Porsche won't lose a single sale and have nothing to worry about. Again, the 911 won't be challenged, nor will it even come close to taking a significant amount of sales from Porsche. Hmmm...an AMG GT for 130K or a GT3/turbo/GTS? No brainer...the 911 won't even have to break a sweat to make a mockery of this car.

And lets not forget, PDK is the best dual clutch on the market vs a dual clutch in the Merc that simply is not going to be even close.

[Red Bread]

Dude, we get it, you like Porsches. No reason not to, but there are other cars out there. Let's try to stick to facts, like the GT actually does have a dual clutch and lots of posers buy 911's and will gladly jump ship to the new, hot thing. Most of my friends with 911's have other, non Porsche sports cars too and I'm sure at least one will add a GT S or a BS at some point.

[Twix]

I believe that Euro standard is to weigh the car half full of fluids, not full like we weigh in NA. Fuel adds a lot of weight in a hurry. Still doesn't account for the extreme lies they tell us, but it's a bit of a buffer for them lol

[M3 Pilot]

The GT looks and great but it'll have to be priced below 991s to justify.

If the GT and 991 is priced similarly, there is no doubt 991 is the way to go.

[F1Venom]

Originally Posted by M3 Pilot

The GT looks and great but it'll have to be priced below 991s to justify.

If the GT and 991 is priced similarly, there is no doubt 991 is the way to go.

True, but I saw a GT in camo roaming around Los Angeles over the weekend and that thing looks exotic as hell. I thought it was an SLS AMG for a bit but it was much smaller. Only when I noticed the camo did it register what it was.

[BMW269]

I would more rely on German weight figures (EU) for cars:

1,572 kg - BMW M4 Coupé (6MT, with CCB)
1,730 kg - Mercedes-AMG C 63 S (7AUT)
1,840 kg - Lexus RC F (8AUT, with TVD)

1,740 kg - Jaguar F-Type R Coupé (8AUT)
1,645 kg - Mercedes-AMG GT S (7DCT)
1,685 kg - Aston Martin V8 Vantage S (7AUT)
1,615 kg - Corvette Stingray (7MT)
1,600 kg - BMW Z4 sDrive35is (7DCT)
1,560 kg - BMW i8
1,520 kg - Porsche 911 GTS (7MT)
1,420 kg - Porsche Cayman GTS (6MT)

[Wolfinwolfsclothing]

Originally Posted by Levi

I would more rely on German weight figures (EU) for cars:

1,572 kg - BMW M4 Coupé (6MT, with CCB)
1,730 kg - Mercedes-AMG C 63 S (7AUT)
1,840 kg - Lexus RC F (8AUT, with TVD)

1,740 kg - Jaguar F-Type R Coupé (8AUT)
1,645 kg - Mercedes-AMG GT S (7DCT)
1,685 kg - Aston Martin V8 Vantage S (7AUT)
1,615 kg - Corvette Stingray (7MT)
1,600 kg - BMW Z4 sDrive35is (7DCT)
1,560 kg - BMW i8
1,520 kg - Porsche 911 GTS (7MT)
1,420 kg - Porsche Cayman GTS (6MT)

+1. The AMG GT is going to be AT LEAST 3600 lbs. Anyone who thinks differently probably still believes the m4 weights 3306 lbs HAHA and we all know its about 300 lbs heavier than that.

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

I have a problem. I've never managed to keep the throttle floored the entire stretch of Laguna Seca's front straight in anything over 500 horsepower. It's practically my home track, but as soon as I start climbing that crest, self-preservation kicks in and I lift. Every. Damn. Time. That changed in the Mercedes-AMG GT.

There's a certain confidence that comes from caning a new car around your home track. It's not just familiar, it's comforting. You know the turn-in points, what to aim for, when you can push your luck, and where that one bit of curbing runs a little too short. So two laps in with the GT, I'm already feeling good. But something feels different.

There's a sense of confidence going through turn 2 that I haven't felt before in something this solid or this powerful. More importantly, the high-speed, sphincter-puckering blast through the Rainey curve feels – for the first time – almost easy. There's trust in the GT. It feels right on track; the most right I've experienced in a Merc since caning the C63 Black here a few years back.

This is not what I was expecting.

Mercedes makes perfectly good GT cars. AMG makes completely nutty barn-burners. But the GT is different. It's not a gullwinged supercar or some over-endowed sedan with more power than prowess. It's a proper sports car in the most traditional sense. Which brings up The Comparison. Let's dispatch with that right now.

There is no such thing as a 911 competitor. They don't exist and never will. The driving dynamics of a rear-engine, rear-drive coupe are sacrosanct to Porsche, and until some product planner loses their mind, has compromising photos of every employee on a coke- and sex-fueled bender at a Christmas party, and starts building a 911 clone, the comparison isn't just lazy, it's misleading.

So what else is the GT aiming at? AMG lists the 911, but also the R8. And again, there's no comparison. Front engine versus mid-engine. The Corvette doesn't play ball on account of the GT's luxury, so the closest I can come up with is the Jaguar F-Type R. It's in the same ballpark on price, powertrain, and performance, but it's a bit silly. Even Travis, the nutter of bunch, can't take it seriously. And the AMG GT is very serious.

This all puts the AMG GT into a strange position. It's one of the only "proper" sports cars adhering to the age-old formula of front-engine (front/mid, really) and rear-drive. And in this day and age, that makes it special.

It's also a damn sharp car, snagging all the right design cues from the SLS and modern Mercs, and packaging them into something that's actually usable. There's an honest-to-God trunk, only slightly compromised by a strut beam spanning the space behind the slightly hard, incredibly supportive seats.

But the interior is what struck me the most. It's impeccably outfitted, not just the quality of the materials, but the overall design. It somehow manages to be both encompassing and airy, with the (optional) glass roof lightening up the somber surfaces and driver-focused controls. The alcantara-covered, flat-bottom steering wheel is the perfect diameter, framing clear gauges and fitted with right-sized paddles. The center console is festooned with buttons on each side – a bit awkward to see and reach, but would become second nature after a few day's worth of driving (oh, and it looks like a V8). The only ergonomic complaint is the shifter, which is so far back on the tunnel that I'm doing my best T-Rex impersonation when pulling into drive.

Among the scads of circular controls is the engine start button, which breathes life into the brand-new, hand-built, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. It's basically a pair of the CLA45 AMG's 2.0-liter engines shoved together (same bore and stroke), with two of turbos nestled into the V to reduce lag and let the engine sit lower in the body. In the S version (the only model on hand for testing) the turbo'd eight puts out 503 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, the latter of which delivers a plateau of twist from 1,750-5,000 RPM. That grunt is routed to the rear wheels through a carbon fiber driveshaft to the rear-mounted 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox and locking differential. Add it all up, along with a body that's 93-percent aluminum, and you've got a 47:53 front-to-rear weight balance on a 3,400(ish)-pound car, and a 0-60 time in the neighborhood of 3.6 seconds. Sports cars stuff, indeed.

Out on the road, it's clear that the GT isn't, well, a GT. Sure, you could Grand Tour it up and down the California coast, but it's more raucous than its SL sibling and far more focused. Even in Comfort mode, divots and pockmarks in the road are sent directly through the staggered (19-inch front, 20-inch rear) wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sports, into the double wishbones as they pass through the chassis and into your hands and ***. But it's not jarring, it's just connected, maybe a little over-focused and, again, very serious.

The AMG Ride Control adapts the suspension, steering, throttle, and traction control through one of four settings: Comfort, Sport, and Sport Plus, along with Race, available on the GT S model. Comfort is king on the highway and even through some of the twisties, providing ample feedback and an unwavering sense of control. But flicking over to Sport tightens everything up, and pressing the exhaust button makes every lift and downshift a snorting, snarling, ****-off-anyone-within-earshot affair. Yes, it is glorious.

The urge to unleash the engine out of every corner, on every straight, and down every passing lane was too hard to refuse, even for a responsible adult of unwavering moral character. With the transmission set to auto mode, matting the throttle pops down two or three gears in milliseconds, thrusting the GT to extra-legal speeds with an odd combination of violence and composure. The paddle shifters are there if you want them, but the gearbox and its supercomputer overlord handle gear selection with urgent precision, and there were only a few low-speed corners where it hesitated to drop down a gear as quickly as my right foot wanted.

Back to the track and I'm helmeted and shoved into one of the launch edition cars, with carbon ceramic brakes, a wing, and a few other baubles. These cars also feature the Dynamic Plus package with drivetrain damping – engine and transmission mounts that change stiffness based on everything from throttle input to lateral acceleration.

The first couple laps are the normal orientation stuff, a mid-pace lead-follow to get acquainted. But by the third lap there's no question that what AMG left out in road manners it made up for in track antics. Power is prodigious – as expected – but the amount of communication from the chassis and the steering is leaps and bounds ahead of anything I've ever experienced with a star on the hood. Then again, this is an AMG project, and if it wasn't for the Mercedes Mothership, the motorsports divisions' crest should've been stamped on the GT's tip and tail.

As the speeds increase, so does the confidence. Even with the traction control fully on, it never slaps me and wags its finger. It's just a quick power cut and an easy hand shoving me back in line. On my second set, I get stuck behind a slower driver, flick the controller over to Race mode and the traction control starts feeding out the rope. Slow corner slides take just a quick stab of the throttle and corner 11 becomes my new favorite playground, with more than quarter-turn of opposite lock bleeding away as the GT's *** shimmies into shape for the straight. And that was all the assurance I needed.

There's enough space between me and my slow-moving colleague to lay down the throttle and see if I can finally hold it down the straight, up the hill, under the bridge, and have faith there's still a track beyond that blind crest. I keep it pinned, and for the first time in something other than a Miata or some clapped out Evo, I only lift when it's time to brake for the double apex. My gut isn't in knots. My stomach isn't forced into my throat. It's the kind of trust I've never experienced in anything remotely resembling the AMG GT. Well, except for a 997 Carrera S, but really, there's no comparison, because this is as traditional a sports car as you can get and that, well, that's a 911.

http://jalopnik.com/first-drive-merc...-mo-1657733025

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

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. (We’ve previously ridden in a test car and driven a prototype.)

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.


Interior-wise, the impeccably trimmed AMG’s cabin shames those of all comers save for the 911. The Porsche features better ergonomics and visibility, and we find that car’s sport seats to be more comfortable than the tight-fit units in the GT S. The main quirk of the Mercedes, however, is that its gear selector is placed far rearward on the high, sloping center console. We understand this is due to Americans’ need for cup holders. We’re not huge fans of Mercedes’ column-based gear stalks, but one might have been more useful here. Alternately, ditch the cup holders.

Due at your local Mercedes store in April, the GT S will be followed in 2016 by the base level, 456-hp GT. Despite Mercedes’ refusal to comment on its impending existence, a blast-furnace Black Series model will arrive at some future date. There may even be other models to come. Could we see a roadgoing AMG GT GT3? The racing version is in the works, after all.

As relentlessly competent as the GT S is, it clearly has more to give. The fundamentals are all here—and nailed—but the ineffable, incandescent fire that makes a car transcendent awaits a thorough stoking. We fully expect to see that happen in a future variant, and we get the sense that—in grand 911 tradition—the AMG GT is about to spawn plenty of ’em.

Amazing Reviews.