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As some of you may remember, after a year and a half of searching, test-driving cars all over Europe, doubts, questions here on the forum and second thoughts, I finally took the plunge and bought a stunning 2021 GTR in Selenite Gray Magno with just 5,200 km (3,500 miles) on the odometer.... What can I say, I’m over the moon!
I picked it up in its hometown (Stuttgart) and brought it back to its new home here in Italy (about 650 miles)
Random thoughts:
- Absolutely stunning looks! (But I already knew that, and it’s one of the reasons I decided to buy this car to replace my current TT-RS)
- I was a bit worried about comfort on the road, but all in all, it exceeded my expectations. The suspension is definitely on the firm side even in Comfort mode, but the seats aren’t as uncomfortable as I feared after reading some posts here on the forum
- The engine is seriously impressive (even though I’m coming from a car that goes 0-60 mph in 6.9 seconds), and even though it’s equipped with a GPF, the sound isn’t bad at all (though I still haven’t figured out if the sound really comes entirely from the engine, or if part of it is fake sound coming from the speakers)
- Fuel consumption: it guzzles gas like an aircraft carrier! A few things I unfortunately miss a bit compared to my 2020 TT-RS;
- The LED matrix headlights, first and foremost! The GTR’s headlights aren’t bad, but when driving at night, Audi’s matrix headlights have a significantly more powerful beam, both in terms of depth and width
- The brakes (steel system) don’t stand out for their initial bite (though it’s worth noting that my TT has 370 mm rotors, Ferodo Racing DS 2500 pads, braided steel lines, and Castrol SRF fluid, and it’s definitely about 150–200 kg lighter)
- The GTR’s seats lack the extendable section, which supports the lower thighs and greatly improves comfort on long trips (especially if you’re quite tall, as I am); I don’t understand how Mercedes could have overlooked this!
- The multimedia system (navigation in particular) is decidedly less intuitive than Audi’s, and also less functional (you can’t enter personal POIs, and the navigation voice sounds very unnatural and primitive), while the optional Burmeister audio system (though not the top-of-the-line model) has good clarity but, in my opinion, lacks a bit of power (and it’s also true that those leaning toward a GTR are probably more interested in the sound coming from the wonderful 3-outlet titanium system than in what comes out of the speakers).
- Last but not least, it doesn't seem possible to change the fuel consumption display (which is quite annoying to me) from liters per 100 km to km/l (the equivalent of your mpg)
The next step will be applying the PPF (Expel or Terminax—I still have to decide) to the front end (bumper, hood, side fenders, mirrors, windshield, roof), and maybe later, finishing the rest as well (man, buying this car has almost left me bankrupt ) and then maybe finish the job by removing the GPF, installing a catted downpipe and ECU remapping just to harmonize everything.
Last edited by Kevin#34; May 11, 2026 at 12:38 PM.
Congrats on getting the car home. All in all pretty expected experience report. Yes, as I pointed out on our recent exchange, the Performance Seats in the GT lack the thigh extension. i also don't get why that is. But as I said, that's one of the reason I find the Performance Seats in my C63 much more comfortable than in the GT. As for the brakes, I have the same steel brakes in my C63 as this GT R has. Fronts at least. I upgraded the rotors to these full-floating Brembo rotors. They are very good. What I would say, with this car only having 3500 miles, those brakes haven't really been used and properly worn in. They do also need to get some heat in them. While I find them great in normal driving, they start to stop noticeably stronger when you start getting on them and they heat up. With the stock setup that my car came with, I found the brakes a bit grabby for normal driving, whereas these I find easier to modulate and then they start to grab more and more when the car is driven hard.
EDIT: For background, I came from a 2013 RS5 with aftermarket brakes. Had full-floating rotors, aftermarket pads, stainless steel lines and high temp fluid. The brakes on Audis are one of the weak links. I regularly managed to fade the stock setup. Took a couple of tries with aftermarket pads to get it mostly where I liked the normal driving manners and where they wouldn't fade on me most of the time when driving hard. Still managed to fade them occasionally. On the other hand, I've never faded the AMG brakes, even the stock setup. I'm still using OE pads, OE lines and OE fluid, just full-floating rotors. AMG brakes are pretty outstanding and most complaints come from people who mostly daily drive their cars complaining about brake dust and noise.
Last edited by superswiss; May 11, 2026 at 02:18 PM.
BADA$$ color/spec - CONGRATS, and Welcome to the Club!!
Def do the FULL car PPF in Xpel Stealth - you will breath MUCH easier. One cannot really put a price on Peace of Mind.
Can you do me a favor and take a photo of the Date of Manufacture plaque on the door sill? (please crop out your VIN, and/or send as a private message if so desired)
As some of you may remember, after a year and a half of searching, test-driving cars all over Europe, doubts, questions here on the forum and second thoughts, I finally took the plunge and bought a stunning 2021 GTR in Selenite Gray Magno with just 5,200 km (3,500 miles) on the odometer.... What can I say, I’m over the moon!
I picked it up in its hometown (Stuttgart) and brought it back to its new home here in Italy (about 650 miles)
Random thoughts:
- Absolutely stunning looks! (But I already knew that, and it’s one of the reasons I decided to buy this car to replace my current TT-RS)
- I was a bit worried about comfort on the road, but all in all, it exceeded my expectations. The suspension is definitely on the firm side even in Comfort mode, but the seats aren’t as uncomfortable as I feared after reading some posts here on the forum
- The engine is seriously impressive (even though I’m coming from a car that goes 0-60 mph in 6.9 seconds), and even though it’s equipped with a GPF, the sound isn’t bad at all (though I still haven’t figured out if the sound really comes entirely from the engine, or if part of it is fake sound coming from the speakers)
- Fuel consumption: it guzzles gas like an aircraft carrier! A few things I unfortunately miss a bit compared to my 2020 TT-RS;
- The LED matrix headlights, first and foremost! The GTR’s headlights aren’t bad, but when driving at night, Audi’s matrix headlights have a significantly more powerful beam, both in terms of depth and width
- The brakes (steel system) don’t stand out for their initial bite (though it’s worth noting that my TT has 370 mm rotors, Ferodo Racing DS 2500 pads, braided steel lines, and Castrol SRF fluid, and it’s definitely about 150–200 kg lighter)
- The GTR’s seats lack the extendable section, which supports the lower thighs and greatly improves comfort on long trips (especially if you’re quite tall, as I am); I don’t understand how Mercedes could have overlooked this!
- The multimedia system (navigation in particular) is decidedly less intuitive than Audi’s, and also less functional (you can’t enter personal POIs, and the navigation voice sounds very unnatural and primitive), while the optional Burmeister audio system (though not the top-of-the-line model) has good clarity but, in my opinion, lacks a bit of power (and it’s also true that those leaning toward a GTR are probably more interested in the sound coming from the wonderful 3-outlet titanium system than in what comes out of the speakers).
- Last but not least, it doesn't seem possible to change the fuel consumption display (which is quite annoying to me) from liters per 100 km to km/l (the equivalent of your mpg)
The next step will be applying the PPF (Expel or Terminax—I still have to decide) to the front end (bumper, hood, side fenders, mirrors, windshield, roof), and maybe later, finishing the rest as well (man, buying this car has almost left me bankrupt ) and then maybe finish the job by removing the GPF, installing a catted downpipe and ECU remapping just to harmonize everything.
Congrats on getting the car home. All in all pretty expected experience report. Yes, as I pointed out on our recent exchange, the Performance Seats in the GT lack the thigh extension. i also don't get why that is. But as I said, that's one of the reason I find the Performance Seats in my C63 much more comfortable than in the GT. As for the brakes, I have the same steel brakes in my C63 as this GT R has. Fronts at least. I upgraded the rotors to these full-floating Brembo rotors. They are very good. What I would say, with this car only having 3500 miles, those brakes haven't really been used and properly worn in. They do also need to get some heat in them. While I find them great in normal driving, they start to stop noticeably stronger when you start getting on them and they heat up. With the stock setup that my car came with, I found the brakes a bit grabby for normal driving, whereas these I find easier to modulate and then they start to grab more and more when the car is driven hard.
EDIT: For background, I came from a 2013 RS5 with aftermarket brakes. Had full-floating rotors, aftermarket pads, stainless steel lines and high temp fluid. The brakes on Audis are one of the weak links. I regularly managed to fade the stock setup. Took a couple of tries with aftermarket pads to get it mostly where I liked the normal driving manners and where they wouldn't fade on me most of the time when driving hard. Still managed to fade them occasionally. On the other hand, I've never faded the AMG brakes, even the stock setup. I'm still using OE pads, OE lines and OE fluid, just full-floating rotors. AMG brakes are pretty outstanding and most complaints come from people who mostly daily drive their cars complaining about brake dust and noise.
You are absolutely right about thigh extension. I misremembered any differences in the seat and thought they were all the same. NM...
I think the reason is that even though I am 6'3" I never extend these, Mercedes or BMW. Had to look at my old pics to confirm.
@superswiss thanks for the advice, I’ll definitely break in the brakes properly—it won’t be hard, especially since the GTR will be used almost exclusively for spirited driving in the mountains and a few track days! After that, if I’m still not satisfied, I’ll switch to DS 2500 pads and maybe braided lines (right now the braking feels a bit spongy and lacks initial bite; it’s definitely not the brake fluid, since it was recently changed and the tester shows water content below 0.8%...) @MBNRG I didn't notice the plaque you're talking about, but I'll take a picture and post it here
In the meantime, here are two other minor issues I've noticed, though they're a bit annoying:
- I realised that it’s impossible to leave the car in neutral (given the limited space in my garage, it would be handy to move it forward or backward without having to start it every time, just like I do with the TT-RS); as soon as the ignition is turned off, it immediately shifts into P, and there’s no way to put it back into N without starting it again
- (Okay, this is really silly, I know) if you want to leave the included battery charger connected, you have to leave the hood partially open, because closing it causes the positive terminal clamp to interfere with the hood itself (due to the shape of the positive terminal, I’d say the clamp can’t be positioned any other way than vertically).
@superswiss thanks for the advice, I’ll definitely break in the brakes properly—it won’t be hard, especially since the GTR will be used almost exclusively for spirited driving in the mountains and a few track days! After that, if I’m still not satisfied, I’ll switch to DS 2500 pads and maybe braided lines (right now the braking feels a bit spongy and lacks initial bite; it’s definitely not the brake fluid, since it was recently changed and the tester shows water content below 0.8%...) @MBNRG I didn't notice the plaque you're talking about, but I'll take a picture and post it here
In the meantime, here are two other minor issues I've noticed, though they're a bit annoying:
- I realised that it’s impossible to leave the car in neutral (given the limited space in my garage, it would be handy to move it forward or backward without having to start it every time, just like I do with the TT-RS); as soon as the ignition is turned off, it immediately shifts into P, and there’s no way to put it back into N without starting it again
- (Okay, this is really silly, I know) if you want to leave the included battery charger connected, you have to leave the hood partially open, because closing it causes the positive terminal clamp to interfere with the hood itself (due to the shape of the positive terminal, I’d say the clamp can’t be positioned any other way than vertically).
Spongy brakes is not something I’ve ever felt in an AMG. While the fluid might be good, they may not have done a good job bleeding it and you have air in the lines.
Regarding the transmission, that’s not something I’ve ever considered. These transmissions are fully electronic. There’s no mechanical connection to the gear selector anymore. In the past before engine start/stop buttons, you couldn’t even remove the key from the ignition unless the transmission was in P.
As for the battery charger, I could be wrong, but I thought the GT R has a 12V socket in the trunk that remains connected with ignition off, so you can plug in the battery charger there instead of using clamps. But yes, if you use the clamps, you have to leave the hood partially open. I leave it resting on the latch which at least in my C63 is enough of a gap and room for the clamp.
Doesn't CTEK come with a different set of cables that are round and flat instead which you can just fit it on the battery terminal like wearing a hat? Forgot what you call those type of cables then you can route the wires up and then away so the hood can be closed?
Yes, you can always connect them via eyelet connector for a more permanent way to connect the charger.
So that's the term, ah yes that is what I mean thanks forum member superswiss.
Edit: I couldn't find a better image https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zVxI-ZjF7r4/hq720.jpg
Spongy brakes is not something I’ve ever felt in an AMG. While the fluid might be good, they may not have done a good job bleeding it and you have air in the lines.
Regarding the transmission, that’s not something I’ve ever considered. These transmissions are fully electronic. There’s no mechanical connection to the gear selector anymore. In the past before engine start/stop buttons, you couldn’t even remove the key from the ignition unless the transmission was in P.
As for the battery charger, I could be wrong, but I thought the GT R has a 12V socket in the trunk that remains connected with ignition off, so you can plug in the battery charger there instead of using clamps. But yes, if you use the clamps, you have to leave the hood partially open. I leave it resting on the latch which at least in my C63 is enough of a gap and room for the clamp.
Regarding the “spongy feeling,” I think I didn't express myself properly. Actually, when I pump the brake pedal several times, the feel stays the same, so I doubt there's any air in the system. What I meant to say is that it lacks initial bite. It probably has to do with what you mentioned earlier—that the pad-rotor combination hasn't been fully broken in yet.
As for charging the battery, however, I’ve found conflicting information: the included charger comes with both clamps and a cigarette lighter connector, but the charger’s instructions explicitly state that the cigarette lighter connector should only be used if there is a dedicated socket in the engine compartment; if there isn’t one (as is the case with the GTR), it must not be connected to the cigarette lighter socket in the passenger compartment (the only one of this type in the GTR is indeed in the passenger compartment and not in the engine compartment); on the other hand, the owner’s manual states that the charger can be connected to the cigarette lighter socket in the trunk (pic 2), but then another section of the same manual specifies that the charger must be connected exclusively to the dedicated terminals located in the engine compartment (pic 3)...
when in doubt, I believe the latter solution is the safest; what do you think?
I believe what they mean in the owner's manual is if you need to charge the battery with a higher amp charger if you let it deplete. Trickle charging is much smaller currents over a long period. The 12V socket is not designed for high currents, so if you need to charge a depleted battery with 10 or 20 amps then yes, do that via clamps, not the 12V socket.
The Mercedes branded CTEK charger uses different connectors than CTEKs own-branded charger. AFAIK there are no accessors for the Mercedes branded ones but there are plenty for the regular CTEK charger. I've been using the regular CTEK lithium ion charger with eyelet connector on the battery for a few years. Works great. There's an opening in the rubber guard on the passenger side of the wiper cowl where you can pass the cable through from the charger. Unfortunately the eyelet connector on the battery isn't long enough that you can connect it without opening the hood. But you can keep the plastic cover over the battery and close the hood with everything connected up.
As for parking without the e-brake on, IIRC, you just need to stop, put gear selector in N, turn off ignition, and pull the (P) handle on the underside of the dash to the left of the steering wheel. I've done it when I'm at the track.
In the end, I think that to prevent the battery from losing charge when I'm not using the car, it will be enough to charge it at regular intervals (in theory, lithium batteries don't like being constantly charged to 100%) by plugging the charger into the cigarette lighter socket in the trunk, as suggested by Superswiss
As for the option of leaving the car in neutral, I will try what you suggested, having that possibility would definitely come in handy
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A few things I unfortunately miss a bit compared to my 2020 TT-RS;
) and then maybe finish the job by removing the GPF, installing a catted downpipe and ECU remapping just to harmonize everything.
