Orders have commenced for the Mercedes-AMG GT that in Australia will be available only in GT S specification from July, priced from $295,000 plus on-road costs, but a word of warning to potential customers: be quick, as the German brand reckons demand will outstrip supply two-to-one.
Mercedes-Benz Australia has decided to pass up on the standard Mercedes-AMG GT that makes 340kW of power and 600Nm of torque because it says it knows its buyers well enough to know they want the full-fat version, given that supply is limited. It says the decision was only made in February, and that a non-S GT would have cost about $270K.
The Mercedes-AMG GT S produces 375kW (between 6000rpm and 6500rpm) and 650Nm (between 1750rpm and 5000rpm) from its higher-tuned 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine. With drive going through an automatic seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to the rear wheels, Mercedes-AMG claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.8 seconds for the GT S.
The company knows its customers so well, in fact, that our Mercedes-AMG GT S will come as standard with an AMG Dynamic Plus package that is optional in most other markets. It includes dynamic engine and transmission mounts, a tauter spring and damper tune within the multi-setting adjustable suspension, more negative camber at the front axle and an adapted speed-sensitive sports steering system.
Remaining optional are carbon ceramic disc brakes, though standard are 265mm-wide, 35-aspect 19-inch front tyres and 295mm-wide, 30-aspect 20-inch rear tyres to (along with the electronically controlled locking differential) assist in putting its grunt to the ground.
Also included are safety systems such as adaptive high-beam assist, collision prevention assist plus, adaptive braking, attention assist, parktronic semi-automatic reverse parking with reverse-view camera, and lane keeping assistance with blind-spot monitor.
For a limited time customers will also be able to choose from the Mercedes-AMG GT S Edition 1, which is priced from $314,900 plus on-road costs.
While Germany hasn’t announced how many of these limited edition models it will build and for how long, buying the GT S Edition 1 is the only way to get certain equipment not currently offered individually (such as a bodykit).
Additional features on the outside include a diamond front grille with fins, door mirrors and trim strips in high-gloss black, larger front splitter, front wheelarch flics, black trim on the side sills, a fixed rear wing, carbonfibre roof, black tail-pipes and lightweight alloy wheels.
Inside, the GT S Edition 1 scores black Nappa leather with red contrast stitching and Dinamica microfibre on its performance seats, an interior ‘black diamond’ package, a flat-bottomed microfibre-coated performance steering wheel with 12-o’clock marking and Edition 1 lettering, and silver-coloured aluminium shift paddles for the automatic transmission.
While initial orders have already started, Mercedes-Benz Australia says the pricing release is the time the official order book can start filling up. While the company won’t specify its exact annual allocation of cars, it believes initial expectations are that there’s enough demand to comfortably double the allocated number of cars coming from Affalterbach.
The best guess is that Mercedes-Benz Australia has been allocated 100 units per year with enough demand for twice that amount.
The price tag of the Mercedes-AMG GT S sits almost $200K beneath the larger, slightly more powerful Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG that in its final incarnation cost $468,320, and the brand shifted 120 units of that supercar since 2009. The brand also quickly shifted all 40 allocated Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Edition models that is was allocated, at a price of $245,000, so there is precedent here for a fast, expensive Benz.
In terms of its direct competitors, the asking price sandwiches the Mercedes-AMG GT S between the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe ($226,970) and Porsche 911 Carrera GTS PDK ($276,700) that each claim 0-100km/h in 4.1 and 4.0 seconds respectively, and the BMW i8 hybrid supercar ($299,000) that does the same dash in 4.4sec.
Read our Mercedes-AMG GT Review from its international launch here.
Comments
Post a Comment