Edmonton Journal

In the middle of the Mercedes road

- Nicholas Maronese

Mercedes-AMG is adding an S trim to its GT roadster line to slot in between the base GT and the highperfor­mance GT C.

Parallelin­g the GT’s coupe range — available in GT, GT S, GT C and GT R trims — the roadster will split the difference between its other two currently available versions.

With some 515 horsepower being churned out of its twin-turbo 4.0-litre V-8, the GT S offers 46 more ponies than a standard GT, and 35 fewer than the C.

Its 494 lb-ft of torque lands just eight shy of the GT C’s rating, however.

All of that spin, routed through a seven-speed dual-clutch trans, translates into a zero-to-100 km/h accelerati­on time of just 3.7 seconds, a 10th of a second slower than the C.

Opting for the S over the base also gets you adaptive suspension, a variable-sound exhaust, wider front and taller rear wheels and a RACE driving mode. It doesn’t, however, get you the rear-wheel steering that a GT C does. Looks are the same as the base GT except for the wheels, making the GT S a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Pricing has not yet been announced, but like its performanc­e specs, you can expect it to split the difference between the base model’s $149,000 MSRP and the GT C’s $178,000 starting price.

Full details will be revealed when it goes on sale later this year.

 ?? MERCEDES-BENZ ?? The 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT S roadster is expected to have a price tag between $149,000 and $178,000.
MERCEDES-BENZ The 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT S roadster is expected to have a price tag between $149,000 and $178,000.

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