The GT is not a direct replacement for the SLS AMG, as it’s positioned at a lower price. But it should be a better car in almost every measurable way, as it’s based on the same basic architecture, uses a similar suspension design, and benefits from five full years of SLS evolution. Remember the McLaren-Mercedes SLR? More money than the SLS, not as good. Progress is a good thing.
Mercedes AMG GT Premiere
The SLS weighed more because Gullwing.
The reinforced aluminum roof panel added weight up high, precisely where you don’t want it, to support the crazy doors. The GT is also shorter and a little smaller than its not-a-predecessor, so it should come in around 3300 pounds, which is 200 less than the standard SLS. The GT’s closed structure also helps make it stiffer by comparison. (And the curvy roof makes it pretty.) Again with the progress.
Three roof options for GT and GT S.
Aluminum is standard, a fixed glass panel with a retractable shade will weigh and cost “more,” and a carbon-fiber panel should be the costliest while saving about a half-pound of weight—not a whole heck of a lot, and it will likely be chosen more for aesthetics. Less weight up high is good.
Yes, the base car’s dampers are like the ones on the Camaro Z/28.
Like we told you a while back, the GT gets fancy spool-valve hydraulic dampers from a company called Multimatic. Turns out they’re only used on the base GT—the GT S gets more-expensive adaptive dampers from Sachs, just like the ones on the SLS. The spool-valve dampers provide very precise control of the damping curves, with different high- and low-speed responses for both bump and rebound.
The dude who was in charge of the chassis came over from [drum roll] Porsche.
Markus Hofbauer got the current 911 Turbo’s setup 95 percent done before leaving for AMG (not shabby for his résumé) and was brought on at Mercedes to make AMGs handle curves. Hofbauer’s first task at AMG was to finish the tuning on the SLS AMG Black Series’ chassis. (Which he nailed.) We can expect great things from the GT, which everyone keeps calling a 911-fighter/beater.
More from ex-Porsche man:
He favors the GT’s hydraulic-damper setup and has big respect for the Multimatic guys. He also says the GT and GT S should sit, performance—and price—wise, between the 911 Carrera S and Turbo. According to Hofbauer, the GT won’t beat the Turbo in terms of performance, but the Porsche doesn’t have the same sort of emotion to it. The Porsche is “too clean.” They’re also much more complex than the AMG GT will be. “You can’t heal mechanical faults with electronics” so you need to start with a solid basis.
Mercedes-AMG, not AMG by Mercedes-Benz.
This will be the first car branded this way, ignoring our boy Karl. Seems they want more of a connection with the (currently super-winning) Formula 1 team and more differentiation from series Benz models. So while the outgoing car was the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT, this one is the Mercedes-AMG GT (S). Get it? Yeah, neither do we.
Black Series = inevitable.
It will happen, likely adopting the carbon-fiber treatment that the SLS AMG Black Series did. And you know they have more power up their sleeve from the new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. It’s just a question of when Mercedes will unleash it, but it will probably happen toward the end of the life cycle.
Via: Road and Track
