First, a big thanks to Mercedes-AMG and the Private Lounge for inviting me out to the Thermal Club so that I could not only drive this awesome car, but drive this track. This was a very well put on event. The hospitality and organization was fantastic. This rivaled and even surpassed some of the BMW M events I've attended over the years and was by far better than some events put on by some manufacturers such as Ferrari and Bentley. Kudos to all of the AMG staff that organized it. Not only were we given the car to drive on the track and street, but we also had a technical presentation so that we could get a better understanding of the car (props to Mr. Vetter). This was also a great personal event for me as this was the only "major" racetrack in California that I had not yet tracked at. (I regularly track all my cars, I compete in various wheel to wheel races throughout the year, I've tracked at a number of famous tracks around the world and have had the opportunity to take classes from BMW M and Skip Barber.)



Secondly, I love this car. This is one of today's best GT cars. I'm immensely looking forward to the different variants that AMG has up their sleeve. AMG makes no qualms that this car is aimed right at the Porsche 911. We all know that Porsche has over 20 different 911 variants and AMG is planning on matching at least a few. While the car supposedly takes aim at the 911 Turbo, I really think this is in the Carrera S range based on the price and configuration.

This car is a blast to drive. It has so much character and feel. It loves to wag its tail out and it not shy about it. It's not uncontrollable when it does that, but it's rather easy to right that and steer the car by applying some additional throttle or steering input.

The steering is fantastic. It is very communicative and precise. It goes where you want it to go and has fantastic feedback. The different drive modes that alter the steering are great. It's light when you need it to be, but on the track, it firms up and allows you to put in the small-precise input required for going fast around a racetrack.

The suspension is great. I've had a number of cars with electronic dampers and different settings. Most of the times, the settings were not noticeable. Here, it is definitely noticeable. In the standard setting, it's comfortable and compliant. It's great for cruising along to work. In race mode, it becomes stiff, but not excruciatingly stiff where your teeth want to fall out. On track, I felt very comfortable pushing this car to the edge. The suspension and steering give you a very good level of confidence in the car and you know that if you point it at the apex, it will go there. Over the crests and rumblestrips on the track, the car handled it more than well and elicited plenty of driver confidence. The adjustable motor mounts are also very awesome and add to the stiffness and feel of the car, I loved that inclusion.

The transmission is without a doubt, the best transmission I've ever driven on a Mercedes (including the SLS AMG Black Series). It rivals M-DCT and PDK. The shifts are extremely quick, seamless and crisp. In automatic, the car just knows which gear to be in and doesn't search for a gear. Automatic was even very good on track.

The brakes are awesome. The carbon ceramics that the cars I were driving were all equipped with it and I never noticed an instance of fade or point where I felt worried about where I would stop.

Here's a short video of me on track with it:

The engine is great. I thought I would be disappointed by it only having 507hp, we're in the midst of a horsepower war and when a modern BMW M5 puts out close to 575hp, I was a bit disappointed that this wasn't in the 550hp range. My GT-R is well over 650hp, my BMW M5 had more than 507hp and hell, my modded CLA is somewhat close to it. But, on the street and the track, combined with the weight of this car, the power was plenty. It honestly felt as fast as a stock GT-R in a straight line (from a roll, it will never match a GT-R from a dig). I used Race Start and launched the car and while it was fast, it wasn't the fastest I've ever experienced, which is to be expected with RWD and 507hp.

You don't really feel that it's a turbo engine. On track even in low speed corners, it puts the power down linearly and fast. The car is always ready to give you torque on demand, with minimal to no spool time, just sheer power. The sound that the car emanates is just fantastic. It's the true AMG sound that we've all grown to know and love.

Here's a video of it revving from the outside:

Looks, well this is subjective, I think it looks great in stock trim, but even better with the Edition 1 wing and front splitter (which will only be available on the Edition 1 for now, until the new variants are released ).



Interior was good. The seats are pretty much the same AMG Performance seats that I have on my CLA45, the interior is very well laid out, the buttons are easy to reach and it's quite intuitive. I just think the engineers gave the number of input options too much thought and over-engineered it. Frankly, it doesn't need both the Command wheel and touchpad. Pick one! I loved how that I had plenty of space and headroom even with my helmet on.

I love the level of options that AMG allows you to have on this car. I love how I can spec it out with quite any trim, color or material that I choose.



Will I buy a GT S? No. Not yet, I'll wait to see what other models come out. Why not? I'm at a point in my life where I want a comfortable, yet fast, discrete car as my daily driver and that's my CLA45. But, for my fast, shouty car, this isn't "raw" enough. I want a car that will kick my teeth in and make me work to drive it fast. I want one that's stiff enough to break my back and make me come out sweaty and sore. While this is fast and fun, it's not that car. It's absolutely a GT and a fantastic one. If I was looking between this and a 911 Carrera S or BMW M6, I would be hard pressed not to get this car. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have a 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 on order that should be coming in soon to replace my Alpha 6+ GT-R.) My other issue with buying this car, is well, it's a Mercedes. Unfortunately, we know what happens, it will depreciate like no other. Mercedes-AMG has indicated that unlike the SLS, this will be share the same lifecycle as a normal MB, approximately 7 years. Thus, I'll wait until more "exclusive" versions are out that won't completely destroy my checkbook after a couple years.

I love the way AMG is headed and after I had been a long time BMW M supporter, I'm now back in the Mercedes-AMG camp.

Here are some additional pics from the event:









Full album: https://picasaweb.google.com/1174135...eat=directlink

 

Nice write-up Phil. Very jelly.....sounds like a great time.

 

Nice, great write up. Thanks for sharing....BTW how did you get these pics? I heard they confiscated cell phones and cameras at this event.

 

Thanks, Bud! It was definitely a great time.

Thanks!

No, they didn't confiscate cell phones and cameras. I had my giant DSLR and I was taking pics everywhere.

For the Huracan unveiling, I had to sign an NDA and put my cellphone in a locker. They didn't have us do any of the sort for this event.

 

damn nice thread you have here, thanx for having me over


can't wait to drive one of these!

 

Killer writeup, thanks for the details and comparisons. I still want one, but am willing to wait a bit as well.

 

awesome stuff. Had to let the front page know about it!
https://mbworld.org/articles/climb-b...-s-track-time/

 

Thanks guys!

Sweet, thanks!

 

I'm jealous you got to drive right behind the instructor! All the times I was on the track, the instructor said "if you drive slow and know you drive slow, I want you right behind me."

I wanted the chance to nip at his heels

Looks like you were bookin!

 

nice

 

Just saw this Phil, excellent but the GT3 is better LOL.

 

Great write up, enjoy the upcoming GT3! Thanks for the photos!

 

Would you allow me to re-use an image on my Instagram account? Check my page out at JPBenz.

 

wow nice!

 

The instructors were very cool.

There were some instances where we lost the pack and had to slow down for the rest.

There were a few Porsche guys that were really boisterous and a bit too overconfident in their driving skills (some even came in race boots, lol). The instructors and I helped to humble them a bit.

Sure, please just credit me. My Instagram is @nlpamg

Thanks!

lol, thanks, bud! I don't know if I'll ever see my GT3. I ordered my damn car in September, it kept on getting delayed due to the carbon bucket seats. It went into production in December, finally finished in January b/c of the seats and now it's still in Emden waiting for a ship to come here (I think it should have gotten loaded yesterday).

Thanks guys!

 

Nice to hear some feedback from someone that actually drove the car. It will be fun to see how the car evolves over time. How were the sight lines when driving on the street?

 

Thanks.

The visibility was not bad. The rear visibility wasn't the greatest, but it wasn't terrible.

The front depth is by far improved from the SLS. It's not as long as the SLS from the front, so it's definitely easier to drive in that respect.

 

Lots of GTS'!
Good photos!

 

I expected both of these things, thanks for confirming them!