Mercedes-AMG GT R revealed – it’s a BONKERS 577bhp track-focused AMG GT

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The new Mercedes-AMG GT R has been revealed at the Brooklands Circuit with track attitude and 577bhp to mark the 911 GT3 RS’s card.

We’ve had the build up to the debut of the Mercedes-AMG GT R as Mercedes look to deliver an AMG GT with track attitude and big enough cajones to take the fight to the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. And here it is – the new Mercedes-AMG GT R.

Mercedes have taken the wraps of the new GT R at Brooklands before it heads for the Goodwood Festival of Speed to strut its stuff, and it certainly has attitude, but attitude backed up by an impressive 577bhp and 516lb/ft of torque from its 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 – that’s up 74bhp and 37lb/ft over the already potent GT S.

AMG has also had a fiddle with the GT’s dual-clutch ‘box to give it quicker shifts, the result of which is o-62mph in 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 198mph – quick, but perhaps not quite as quick as we might have expected considering the big jump in power.

But outright acceleration isn’t the raison d’être of the GT R, it’s the ability to hit the track and, specifically for the GT R, to tame the Nurburgring on which it has been honed, to the extent that the GT R comes in a vivid shade of Green Magno paint to reference the ‘Green Hell’.

But all the work at the Nurburgring has defined the direction of the GT R, so it gets a wider track with bigger wheel arches, carbon fibre engine mounts and chassis bits, a thumping great rear wing for more downforce, active front splitter, active underbody panels, three-mode adaptive coil-over suspension, Active Rear-Wheel Steering and a choice of nine traction control settings.

There’s also a new lighter titanium exhaust system with active flaps that promises to be very loud when you want it to be, and more stopping power with 390mm discs at the front and 360mm at the rear. You can also tick what we assume will be an expensive box for even more stopping power.

As for how it looks, it looks like a Kermit-coloured GT3 for the road, with its big air intakes, big back wing, front splitter and the Panamerica grill at the front.

The interior comes with simpler seats without electric motors in the name of weight saving, leather, yellow seatbelts and contrast stitching, gloss black trim and Night Package (you can have the comfy seats back as an option).

Tobias Moers, Mercedes-AMG Chairman, said:

We have defined every single component dedicated to performance. The result is an overall composition which perfectly reflects our motto: “Handcrafted by racers”. That makes this sports car a milestone when it comes to driving dynamics.

The Mercedes-AMG GT R goes on sale at Mercedes UK AMG dealers on 21 November, with the European market launch in March 2017. How much will the AMG GT R cost, you ask? Probably at least £150,000.