Greener than the Green Hell: Meet the Mercedes-AMG GT R

Published on June 29, 2016 in News by Frédérick Boucher-Gaulin
Mercedes-AMG GT R

Last week, Mercedes-AMG revealed to the world an even sharper version of its GT supercar, because yes, the GT CLEARLY wasn’t fast enough as it was. The GT R is painted in a very eye-searing shade of green.

First of all, let’s talk about the looks. One of the most visually striking aspects of the car is obviously its paint. Named AMG Green Hell Magno to commemorate the Nurburgring—Green Hell was the name given to a portion of this track by Sir Jackie Stewart—where the car was developed, said paint has a matte finish, which makes the other changes stand out.

The front fascia features a larger air dam to help cool the vehicle down. In the lower middle intake, air shutters can close to reduce drag or open when the engine needs cooling. The new Panamericana grille pays tribute to the Mercedes-Benz 300SL which won that race in 1952.

Under the hood sits a a twin-turbo, 4.0-litre V8 developing 577 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. This power bump comes courtesy of a new pair of turbochargers and a less restrictive exhaust. All that horsepower is enough for the AMG GT R to go from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and hit 316 km/h. the twin-clutch gearbox is also optimized for track duty.

There are a lot of other changes, but here is the important part: the Mercedes-AMG has been built to shatter track records, and it has the Porsche 911 GT3 RS squarely in its sights.