harrower

Here is my report on attending the AMG Academy SLS GT3 Experience. This was a great experience and the GT3 is one amazing machine. People will surely ask what is it like in comparison to the SLS and the answer is they are two different animals built with different purposes. The SLS is a great high performance road car whereas the GT3 is a race car plain and simple. I would HIGHLY recommend that you all try and attend one of these events. The reason I did the event was to get some basic seat time in the GT3 in prep for the Warm Up event which is later in the summer which is 1.5 days long. The price of the event was 1500 Euro and in my opinion worth every penny. The objective here is to "qualify" for the AMG Academy Masters level next year which is planned around using the GT3 so there is a long term goal here.

My report will not be as comprehensive or professional as I would like, and I apologize for quality of pics and video, but is somewhat difficult taking pics etc when you are been stuffed into a race car and getting suited up. I will do update when AMG send me the pro pics and video they took which should hopefully increase the quality of the report

Arrival

After a short flight from Prague, went and grabbed a SIXT rental which was the E-class 220 coupe. Nice car and considering it was the same price as compact rental in the US it was a nice change from been put into a Nissan in the US. Drive from Frankfurt was easy and took 45 min to Hockenheim. Was welcomed by the old crew at the Academy. See pic of agenda for the event. After short briefing on the car, we went out in teams of 3 in standard SLSs to get familiar with track and also the conditions. The weather was less than ideal as it was raining on-off and cold so it was clear that a little bit of caution in braking and application of throttle was in order. We were the only people on the track so it was nice that there was no traffic at all.
After the warm-up laps in the SLS we were geared up for the GT3. This requires that all clothing be FIA certified. This included helmets/suits/gloves and shoes. I had my own but the Academy supplied everything to those who did not including the Santoni racing shoes which were very nice. We had seat fitting but to be honest there was not really time to do a proper one. I could have used more time to set pedals a bit better and also a little height in the seat as you are way down. Wheel adjustments would also be order, but we had limited time so it was better to get the basic comfort set and be happy with it. For the Warm-up I am sure they will spend more time with fitting which is so important.

Into the GT3
What to say. Getting in was easier than when I went for taxi ride in Le Castellet at the PL event. Once you are in the fit is very snug and when the belts are tight you are held in place firm. One very nice thing is that the pedal layout makes left-foot braking a breeze. As someone who normally does not left-foot brake in street cars and usually does not do this on the track, the GT3 set-up makes it easy and with little effort. It was almost natural to left-foot brake in this car. Clutch is to the left of the brake and is used only to get car moving out of pit. I have attached pics of the inside and wheel. The three buttons you needed really are the ignition/start engine/pit limiter and radio. These are located on the wheel itself. The settings we used for ESP was a setting of 3 on scale to 11, 1 been full and 11 off. Once fitted and radio check complete, it was time to go.

The Drive
Flick of the ignition and the dash-board lights up. In the LED flashes Ok to start engine or something like that. Push the start engine button and let the engine turn-over. Then there is deep rumble and then she fires. The sound is loud and beautiful and there is that vibration to let you know that there is no soft letter seat...just carbon fiber. You feel everything in this car....everything. Door is closed and engage the clutch and select 1st with right paddle on wheel. There is a clink and she is gear. Raise the RPM a little and slowly let the clutch out. As our CE said, it is easy to stall this puppy. Once the clutch is out a little throttle to get the car going. With pit limiter on, the sound is so loud and there is a slight vibrating. The car simply wants to go. Hit the pit exit, click off the limiter and she is off.

In all I did 10 laps or so. The car is simply amazing. Everything in the car is magnified a hundred times over. The speed, the brake applications, the turn-in points and sheer enjoyment of a pure race car. I would not say the car is difficult to drive per say, but does command a little respect. In our conditions which were on comp tires you needed to respect the fact that you were on a fast slick track in a high performance race car and that things needed to be conducted in a certain manner. Some noticeable things:

1. Shifting - the gearbox is amazing. There is so much torque in the car that even at high speed the shifts are fast and very noticeable. This is NOT as SLS shift feel.
2. Brakes - application and points are so different that you need to relearn things. The brakes are amazing and grab like nothing I have experienced. The thing is that the braking is so effective that it takes some time to adjust brake application in relations to turn-in point or else you will brake way too early and drop all useful speed into the turn.
3. Handling - direct, direct, direct. All the aero and weight loss makes this thing go right where you want right away almost like it was reading your mind.

After 10 laps we went for some taxi rides in GT3 but by then it was raining non-stop and prevented us from really flying. Still alot of fun. After then we closed out the event and I made my way back to Frankfurt for the flight out the next morning.

This was a great experience and I would recommend everyone come and try this. Apologies for quality of vids and pics. I will update post with better pics and vids once AMG sends them to us.

Dave

Vids - having some issues with inserting YouTube links in this text so will post links in seperate post. Desrcriptions below

1. Getting ready to head off for 1st 4 laps
2. Coming in after 1st initial 4 laps for some feedback and then off again
3 Coming down the front stretch. Please don't ask me how fast I was going as you don't have timer to look. On the back stretch where there is more time, I was doing on average 255-260kmph.
4. Pitting and exiting. Nice hairdo huh You do get warm in there. Sorry about personal nature of the vid, but I did not have someone to go out to track and take actions shots. Will post vids later when AMG sends them.
5. Bedo this is for you...the orginal 300SEL
6. Engine bay of 300SEL

As I said, I will update with better pics and vid as they come.

1.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NWLvOJYlXo
2.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrqHqAVBp98
3.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u9WOur2_9k
4.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p7u749bKHQ
5.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh7E5aabsmQ - the orginal AMG
6.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f74MCRMbWHU - inside the engine bay

One more video - taxi ride in GT3. As I said the weather was poor and by the time we did taxi rides it was raining non-stop so it was hard for them to really push the car. Still a great time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GWFWD1dBqo

Dave

harrower

some stock pics of the cockpit and steering wheel. Nothing like sitting on a CF seat

harrower

the old 300SEL....the original beast!

harrower

last pics...more of 300SEL and an SLS GT3 that was done up in same livery as the original.

Tommy_s4

and I thought i was cool using the center console in the sls gt3 for a flat surface to hold my heineken. Musta been one hellova experience. Btw did you hit your head on the way out?


Ps, that explains why the clutch felt disconnected when I was behind the wheel.

harrower

It was a great ride. Have some more seat time in the GT3 later on in summer and will post in-car video etc. Didn't hit my head on way out but was Hans which got caught on roll-cage.

harrower

Updated pics here https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...e-sls-gt3.html