New Video Featuring Kimi Antonelli Shows Off the F1-Inspired Mercedes-AMG GT2 Edition W16
Mercedes-AMG put F1 driver Kimi Antonelli in the driver’s seat of the new 830-hp GT2 Edition W16.
Mercedes-AMG wants to sell its ultra-exclusive GT2 Edition W16, the most powerful AMG GT-class race car in the brand’s history. To promote the fiendishly powerful, F1-inspired GT car, Mercedes-AMG told Kimi Antonelli to suit up and hit the track.
The video starts with Antonelli sending the track car out onto the circuit, scored by its shrieking turbocharged mill. That whine is courtesy of the 4.0L V8 biturbo engine situated ahead of the F1 driver. Although most fans know Antonelli from his recent F1 debut, the driver has extensive experience piloting GT racing cars, something Mercedes-AMG calls “the best of both worlds.”
Its name is a reference to the Mercedes-AMG F1 W16 E PERFORMANCE, the Formula 1 team’s current race car. But, unlike the F1 car, Mercedes-AMG didn’t have to contend with the same rules and restrictions with a GT car like the GT2 Edition W16. As a result, the engineers pushed the envelope, imbuing the GT2 Edition W16 with “up to” 830 horsepower.
But all that twin-turbo grunt isn’t always available. Base output sits at around 720 horsepower. Flicking the steering wheel-mounted Push2Pass button, however, bumps output up to 830 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque.
F1-Derived Aerodynamics
In the video, Antonelli attacks corners, active aero flexing and falling with the demands of the track. And like Antonelli’s F1 W16 E PERFORMANCE race car, aerodynamics are a vital part of the GT2 Edition W16’s formula.
For starters, the wide, low-slung GT car is surrounded by a large front diffuser, carbon fiber aero components, active fender-topping louvers, aerodynamically-optimized mirrors, and an F1-inspired Drag Reduction System (DRS).
Add in a weight of just 3,153 pounds (1,430 kg), and the GT2 Edition W16 achieves a circuit-carving power-to-weight ratio of about 1.7 kg (3.75 pounds) per horsepower. All that power and lightness let drivers like Antonelli push the GT race car to an eye-watering 199 mph.
Limited to Just 30 Units
Here’s the catch: even if you can afford the razor-sharp, record-breaking GT car, Mercedes-AMG doesn’t plan on making many of them. Each one starts at around $733,000 (€679,000), and the marque says it will limit production to just 30 units.
However, Mercedes-AMG says buyers can take delivery of the limited-run race car at “an exclusive event on a European racetrack in spring 2026.” If that wasn’t enough, buyers can then hit the track and meet the members of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, like Antonelli.
Check out the video of Antonelli flogging the customer racing vehicle around the track below!
Photos: Mercedes-AMG
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