The AMG GT S may be a high-performance car, but it's less spectacular than a 911. Yet it offers a real alternative, with a different philosophy, to the Porsche 911, while boasting a line that's older than it looks.
With the Mercedes 300 SL of the '50s, demanded by Max Hoffman, Mercedes-Benz's importer in the USA, the German firm offered the equivalent of a supercar at the time, backed by racing commitments. Unfortunately, the accident at Le Mans in 1955, which resulted in 84 deaths, was to set the star brand back for many years... With the return to competition at the end of the 90s, particularly in F1, Mercedes once again considered the question of a true sports car in its range. Partnerships with McLaren on the one hand, and with AMG on the other, which became a subsidiary in 1999, were to lead the company towards new exceptional cars: first the Mercedes SLS, produced in Woking at McLaren (and with an AMG engine), then the SLR, a quasi-neo-retro evocation with a 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated V8 engine and almost 571 hp (in base version).
With the AMG GT and its more powerful variant, the S, Mercedes has abandoned the niche of hyper-exclusivity and returned to that of the more accessible GT sports car, competing with a Porsche 911. Paradoxically, we're less forgiving of a car that costs far less, but is also far less exclusive: Mercedes and AMG therefore had to be perfect. A 510 hp V8 Biturbo is used for this GT S model, less powerful than its predecessor, but lighter and above all more rigorous.
