As a few folks have requested, here are my initial thoughts after owning and driving the GT Black Series for a bit.

First let me say that my only points of comparison are 991 Porsche RS cars, not only because I have owned a .1 3RS, .2 3RS, and 2RS, but also because they are in the automotive world the closest thing we have to a barely street legal race car in this segment … and in the case of the 2RS the direct competitor to this car.

Sound:

Mine is obviously a US spec car which means it has secondary cats instead of particulate filters. This is no small thing and I am grateful to MB for doing it because most manufacturers won’t bother. I haven't driven the European version but I'm guessing it makes a big difference especially under throttle. Given the reviews and sound clips coming out of Europe I was really worried about the sound of the car. I actually had been in email contact with Lukas at Opus about buying an exhaust from them. Thankfully I waited to take delivery before doing so because I neither need it or want it. Yes at idle there's nothing special about the exhaust, it's just a quiet purr very much like that of the GT2RS. But once you get going with valves open it actually sounds pretty epic, shockingly so, even with the windows open to diffuse the little bit of fake exhaust coming through the speakers. In the US spec car without the filters the exhaust along with all the mechanical sounds makes it a full on race car auditory experience and much more pleasurable to hear than the 2RS. The car is almost like a blend of 3RS viscerally with 2RS speed, with the exhaust somewhere in between. As a 458 owner there’s also something fairly reminiscent in the cadence … do not get me wrong, the BS sounds great but nowhere near what is one of the sweetest exhaust sounds ever produced, I’m just saying that there’s a familiarity to the way the sound is produced at its FPC source, and it’s a great thing.

Design:

This gets said a lot about many cars, but it has never been more true of this car … it is very difficult to capture this car in pics in a way that does it justice, especially with a cell phone. In person the car is stunning and everything is in perfect proportion with everything else, including wing, substantive *** and all. There’s nothing that seems out of place and the level of design that went into it is beyond anything I have seen before in a car. It is a thing of beauty, both elegant and aggressive. Everything has a purpose and if you know what you’re looking at you can appreciate the amount of work and effort it takes to be just a few smidgens faster than anyone else on a track as long as the Ring. When you look deeper, under the hood, under the wheels, and when it;'s on a lift, it’s all there and it’s magnificent.

When you see the car up close the attention to detail is breathtaking, especially when it comes to its sculpted carbon fibre parts. This is where it is very different from the GT2RS, both for better and worse. Porsche has a very practical and utilitarian approach to its aero bits, it saves them and the owner costs. On a 911 RS the splitter is a textured plastic piece that take $200 to replace (and I’ve had to replace a few), the side skirts and diffuser/lower bumper are also textured plastic. All of that is borne of track experience on parts that are likely to see the most abuse. The GT Black Series is diametrically opposed, everything that is easy to break is in carbon fibre, not only that but each part is incredibly beautiful. The rear wing spoiler assembly belongs in a museum as a stand alone carbon fibre sculpture, it is almost mesmerizing. Long story short you might have to double Xpel this one.

Dynamics:

The car is a race car, it’s that simple. At this level everything is fast and magic coding make the TT linear so there's not even a reason to talk about that. I race different cars in different series and all of them have that direct connection to the pavement, and so does this one. If they used insulation it isn’t much because all you hear is glorious mechanical, road, and exhaust noises. I can’t tell you how good the handling and braking are because I’ve only driven it on the street, so I’m not using any of it. Just like the 2/3 RS there’s zero pitch and it takes 100mph turns with a yawn. I haven’t decided if I’ll track it yet but if I do I will give a more qualified review of what it’s like at the limit. As far as driving on the road it is very much like a 911 RS car, it’s super eventful, it’s fun as heck, but it really isn’t that great of a daily. It is a highly focused precision tool that is meant to do one thing exceptionally, it isn’t a well rounded GT car that’s capable both on a cross cautery trip and on track but proficient at neither. You are getting the full race car experience.

Interior/Tech:

Interior is beautiful and familiar to anyone who’s owned or driven a GT series AMG. Easy to put in race mode and manual mode … don’t ask me about the rest, I don’t care and I haven’t played with the displays or radio, I just turn everything off and drive the crap out of it. If you want to know if the traffic alerts are accurate and the fidelity of the sound system ask someone else.

Complaints:

- Need a solution to the vent behind the front wheels to stop the rocks from coming through. Something temporary for use on the street that’s removable for track use to make use of the aero advantage.

- A lot more men and women are attracted to me despite the fact that I haven’t improved in any way since buying it, if anything I have regressed. Not really a complaint, just something to account for.

First impressions verdict.:

The car is bonkers to look at and drive, and as silly as it sounds it is a bargain at its msrp especially because as opposed to Porsche there's only a few options available and you can't pay more than $25k over base even if you tried to. The 991 GT2RS is an incredible vehicle, but the GT Black Series adds a level of emotion and feedback that the 2RS lacks. Like I stated in the sound section, the best way to think about it as a Porsche person is as a slightly faster GT2RS but with the driving experience of a GT3RS, in short, the best of both worlds.

Anyhoot, these are my initial impressions, I hope they don't offend anyone, I’ll follow up as time passes.

All the cars being compared for reference:

 

I agree with your observations however I like the front view of the AMG looks compared to the Porsche's


Texas

 

I have a similar car backround to Soulsea and owned a GT2RS and every other 911 including a 991 Speedster and I agree with his post. I now have over 1000 SoCal miles on mine. The GTBS after break in is fantastic including the sound when pushed above 4500 rpm and in downshifts.

 

Any audio you can share? FYI, if you mount/strap pretty much any ol' iPhone to the hatch window or hatch floor somewhere near the rear and keep windows up, you can record fairly decent sound with pretty much any recording app that uses the built-in mic.

If you want to go "all out" (pun intended) and get externally recorded sound, I've found that the Vitopal VM-i1 plug-in mic (from Amazon, I've tested with iPhones) can handle the sound-pressure levels involved (max 130dB SPL), but a mic-attenuating app is required. The free Shure MOTIV app works for this.

In case anyone is interested, here's the removable mount I made using some "plastic cardboard," velcro (strap and stick-on) and some closed-cell packing foam to hold the mic (iPhones, one for external and one for internal sounds, are velcro'd to the hatch-lining parts):






I've attached a little sample of the external audio (GTR Pro).