2020 Mercedes-AMG GT R Does Half-mile Blast Down Runway
When you have a 577-horsepower flagship performance car that can fly down the road, but there’s not a track nearby, a runway will do just fine.
Supercars like the Mercedes-AMG GT R are striking machines that sound even better than they look. They’re the hard-earned results of companies investing millions of dollars and thousands of hours of research, engineering and racing into producing a vehicle that’s exciting whether you’re wearing a helmet or not. But they all have the same problem: They can’t be legally wrung out on public roads. That’s what a dedicated track or, in this case, a runway, is for.
Track Day host Dan Wang is well aware of the 2020 GT R’s stats.
As the flagship of the Mercedes-AMG GT line, it has a souped-up version of the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 that produces 577 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. A 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and rear-wheel drive (and steering) help put that to the road and track. As Wang puts it, the GT R is “a proven formula for having a good time. But good times aside, how fast is it in our half-mile acceleration test? There’s only one way to find out.” That way is a runway.
Before going flat out down the tarmac, Track Day‘s “resident race car driver” (we’re assuming it’s Wang himself in a tracksuit and helmet) puts the GT R into Race mode for maximum performance. It leaves the line smoothly, but proceeds to absolutely tear through the hundreds of feet of space ahead. Each upshift is banged off at redline. By the time the camera stops rolling on the speedo, the GT R is doing 152 mph – and hasn’t even gotten to seventh gear yet. Wang does another long pull right afterward, this time touching 151 mph. He sums up both rocket rides succinctly with three words: “What a machine.”
Wang measures several of the GT R’s times during both runs, but primarily cares about its performance in the 40-100 mph and 60-130 mph dashes and the half-mile sprint. The GT R’s times don’t change much from its first run to its second.
It gets from 40 to 100 mph in as little as 5.01 seconds. Accelerating from 60 to 130 mph only takes the GT R a minimum of 7.93 seconds. It completes the half mile in 17.96 seconds doing a buck fifty-three. Those numbers only get better when Wang corrects for the runway being 900 feet above sea level.
It’s an impressive performance by one of the most attractive European supercars on the market today – and just one of the reasons why the words “automotive enthusiast” have such a ring and – for us – truth to them.
Join the MB World forums now!
