The Superb GT S Heralds a New Period for Mercedes Sports activities Automobiles

WIRED

* A wholly authentic sports activities automobile assertion in a sea of established gamers.
* GT does not stand for Grand Touring– it is extra like Good Occasions or Gobs of Torque
* In individual, any bodily resemblance to the Porsche 911 is only coincidental.

TIRED

* Attractive snout impedes outward visibility and tight cargo capability means FedEx’ing baggage for weekend getaways
* That inevitable second whenever you kick your self for not ready for the Black Collection model.
* Contemporary seems cannot keep contemporary ceaselessly. Ah, youth.

On a pc display screen it seems small and flat, with a tail that remembers a mashup of its forbear, the SLS AMG, and the sloping, half century-old tush of the Porsche 911. However within the flesh, the 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S presents a seize bag of unfamiliar complicated curves. With subtly scooped surfaces and angled sheet steel, every characteristic comes alive from a unique viewpoint.

Seen from above, its convex nostril seems to reference the AC Cobra 427, whereas the slender rear lights seem to be a nod to the BMW Z8. All of which begs the query: Doesn’t this two-seater from Affalterbach remind you of every little thing and nothing you’ve seen earlier than? In a bizarre means, sure—and that’s only the start of the mind-melt that’s the 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S, the all-new sports activities automobile from the 128-year-old German carmaker.

Gullwing Roots

The GT S is the brand new flagship for Mercedes-Benz’s high-performance sub-brand, AMG. Outfitted with a brand new 4-liter V8 biturbo engine, it is anticipated to run from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and begin for round $115,000. These numbers put it on the identical stage because the juggernaut that’s the Porsche 911, together with foes just like the Audi R8 and Jaguar F-Sort Coupe. The worth additionally represents a relatively attainable different to previous range-toppers just like the SLS AMG ($275,000 in its most costly type) and its predecessor the SLR McLaren, whose beginning worth approached the half-million greenback mark. Think about the GT S a relatively attainable halo automobile.

Whereas the GT S marks a step down in worth, Mercedes-Benz had sufficient confidence within the automobile’s efficiency to host its press launch on the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, dwelling to 2.238 miles of legendarily tight turns. On high of its most well-known characteristic, the 5 ½ story drop-off that’s the Corkscrew, there’s additionally some high-speed, off-camber stuff and a straightaway that encompasses a wet-your-pants blind kink at its quickest level. Sport on, AMG.

Swing the GT’s doorways open horizontally (how typical!), and the outside’s acquainted unfamiliarity extends to the inside. Seated behind the slightly giant steering wheel (capped with a triple-pointed star, in fact), the cabin’s place feels harking back to the SLS, with the house carved out for occupants tucked behind the sizable proboscis that homes the 503-horsepower V8. There isn’t a lot of something behind your comfortable, carbon fiber-backed seats (although the oh-so-European hatchback hides a small trunk), however you do really feel a way of spaciousness. The headroom feels expansive sufficient for a Yeti. The middle console is housed in a sculptural part of naked aluminum. Knurled, racecar-style dials are angled towards the driving force, driving dwelling the theme of purposeful performance: This automobile is about meant to be pushed.

The doorways and the rear hatch slam with the heft we’ve come to anticipate from Daimler merchandise. That feeling of solidity stands in distinction to aggressive weight financial savings measures, epitomized by an aluminum and magnesium physique shell that weighs solely 509 kilos. Although US specs aren’t remaining, the official curb weight for European fashions is 3,461 kilos, 109 fewer than the outgoing SLS AMG GT. 53 p.c of that mass is balanced on the rear wheels, because of an engine that’s positioned rearward and a gearbox that sits behind the passenger compartment, on the rear axle.

Turbo Considerations

The GT is AMG’s first sports activities automobile arrange with a “Scorching V” configuration (that’s, turbochargers nestled between the cylinder heads), which allows compact packaging and larger thermal effectivity. The powerplant attracts engineering inspiration from the CLA45 AMG’s engine, which squeezes 355 horsepower from solely 2.0 liters—a determine so lofty, it held the crown as probably the most highly effective four-cylinder engine on the planet.

The common red-blooded fanatic usually has three major points with turbocharged engines: the exhaust observe (or the dearth thereof), throttle response, and turbo lag. The GT S solves every. Hearth up the automobile, and matter primary is addressed virtually instantly, particularly when aggressive drive modes are chosen and open the absolutely variable exhaust vanes. Interact first gear by yanking the center-mounted shift deal with up and again, and the engine sounds intensify into bass-frequencies burbles, inspiring pointed questions for Mercedes-AMG CEO Tobias Moers. “No,” he later solutions in opposition to the din of trackside GT S flybys, with a glance of intrigue in his eyes. “We didn’t want to breed the exhaust sound. There isn’t a sound symposer.” What you hear is all pure engine. Moers concedes, nonetheless, that auditory enhancements might be integrated into future variants.

Because the tach needle creeps up the dial, there’s no jarring level the place turbo enhance kicks in. The engine pulls strongly because the revs climb and the burbles louden, defeating any extraneous unsexiness from different mechanical issues just like the high-pressure gasoline pump, which runs as staggeringly excessive as 2,900 psi (and thus, might have created a mighty unsexy racket). The result’s an natural, viscerally pleasing engine that makes all the appropriate sounds regardless of its turbocharged configuration.

The twin-clutch 7-speed transmission’s gearshifts are fast and easy. When Sport+ or RACE mode is chosen, they tackle extra urgency. The crisp immediacy and wealthy aural symphony of Mercedes’ now defunct, naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 engine is missed, however the brand new turbocharged mill does make a powerful case for itself with its excessive vitality density, easy energy buildup, and light-weight weight (460 kilos, dry).

Purpose that pointy snout the place you hope to go, and the wheel feels a bit heavy however deft in your fingers. Not like many sports activities automobiles du jour, the GT S retains a hydraulic steering association, which communicates the texture of the highway to the driving force. “We didn’t want to make use of electrical,” Moers says with borderline smug satisfaction, and we’re grateful for it. Although there’s a sure feeling of bodily heft as the huge nostril adjustments path, turn-in is fast and rapid, recalling none apart from the mighty SLS Black Collection, a restricted manufacturing, high-performance unique whose near-cartoonish bodily proportions have been simply defied by its responsive dynamic capabilities.

Seat of the Nomex Pants

The carbon-backed seats within the GT S talk remarkably effectively with the driving force’s posterior—partly due to their ground-huggingly low altitude and place useless middle between the fats, staggered 265mm and 295mm tires. Straightforward turn-in, prodigious grip, and strong mid-corner monitoring rule till traction will get dodgy, at which level the rears break free with predictable, manageable slides. When the extra permissive “Sport Dealing with” mode is chosen, mid-corner throttle stabs set off these 479 pound-feet of torque with close to immediate response, sending the tail sideways in a rush whenever you’re within the meat of the powerband, which plateaus within the huge expanse between 1,750 and 5,000 rpm.