The honed and focused Mercedes-AMG GT R is at home on a track, but so is one of its German competitors…
Most Mercedes-Benz vehicles look entirely at home in the valet lot of a fancy restaurant or in front of a world-class golf course. It’s not unusual to see a gleaming S-Class outside of a high-end steakhouse or a leased E350 parked near a Neiman Marcus. Even the big and boxy G-Class doesn’t appear out of place at those kinds of establishments.
You might see a $157,000 Mercedes-AMG GT R in front of an expensive department store, but it wasn’t made to be parked. It was made to be driven quickly around a racetrack. Cars.com recently got a chance to take the sportiest of Mercedes-AMG’s sports cars to just such a place.In the video above, presenter Aaron Bragman doesn’t set any lap times in the GT R, but he does point out what makes the GT R “racetrack ready.” Like any car developed for hot laps, it’s loaded with carbon fiber, which makes up its front fenders and splitter, roof, and massive rear wing. It rides on adjustable coilovers and three-stage adaptive dampers. The rear wheels steer to sharpen the R’s handling. Traction control is available in nine increments and can be tweaked using a dial in the center console.
No track car would be complete without a robust power source. The GT R definitely has one. Its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 cranks out 577 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Flat out, the GT R can bang through the gears of its seven-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT gearbox and get to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds.
Hmmm… A German track car with a starting price in the mid 100s? Sounds familiar. That’s because the GT R is not alone in that category. Bragman mentions the Porsche 911 GT3 ($143,600) being a competitor. Its naturally aspirated flat-six generates 500 horsepower, so it’s not quite as strong as the GT R, but it’s 0.3 seconds quicker to 60 mph and at its PDK-equipped heaviest of 3,153 pounds, 441 pounds lighter than the GT R. One is an AMG animal. The other is a backwards-engined ballerina. Sounds as if nobody loses when either car hits the track – unless you’re using a stopwatch.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
