Suave sledgehammer – Mer

THE CAR COMES OUT TOPS IN COMPARISON TO SIMILAR OFFERINGS FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS At an eye-watering price of around R2.7 million, it is something for a select few.

Heap praise upon the new Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster and cynics will say that Merc has been playing catch up with the likes of Porsche, Audi and BMW forever.

And in some small way they might be right. Previous attempts at a really fast and dynamic, roadster/convertible/cabriolet did not put Mercedes at the top of the pile, but now I think you can buy an AMG product that is every bit as good as anything their competitors have to offer in the same category.

Not too long ago, MercedesAMG brought the world the hardcore, track focused AMG GT R, which, by the way, we hope to be able to test in February, and then they unleashed the AMG GT Roadster, and the even more hardcore version, the AMG GT C Roadster we have on test here.

“With our two Roadster models, we are strategically expanding the AMG GT family by two exciting variants.

“With the AMG GT C Roadster, we are also introducing a new model variant to which we have transferred main performance-related components from our top sports car, the AMG GT R.

“The result is a highly dynamic driving experience in a very exclusive ambience, coupled with that pure roadster feeling,” says Tobias Moers, chairperson of Mercedes AMG GmbH.

And the “C” is not just a letter stuck on the rear of this sports car for fun. It basically explains to the more informed petrol head that this particular roadster steals a good few technical refinements from the so-called “Beast of the Green Hell” – the AMG GT R.

Getting through the “Green Hell” in just 7 minutes 10.9 seconds, the Mercedes-AMG GT R was faster than any other road-going sports car ever tested at the time, and more than lived up to its name, and this says plenty about the dynamics of the car at the same time.

Items such as active rear axle steering and the electronically-controlled rear axle-locking differential, along with an AMG Ride Control sports suspension, the AMG GT C Roadster guarantees dynamic performance at the highest level.

Perhaps the only complaint one could have is that for every day use, the suspension is perhaps a bit firm, even in comfort mode.

But come on, who spends R2.7 million on a very specific car, and then complains that it might be a bit firm? And the person who has this kind of cash will be guaranteed to have a more “bread and butter” car or two in the garage for mundane every day tasks anyway. So, if you want to go really fast, then you will know what you are buying, and happily live with the firm suspension.

It doesn’t end there though, also straight from the AMG GT R playbook are the muscular proportions of wider rear fenders that allow for massive 305/30 20inch rear tyres and a wider track, that once again are all about allowing higher cornering speeds and impressive traction for a rear wheel driven car.

At the heart of this drop top beast is the now familiar 4.0-litre V8 biturbo AMG engine that produces the grumpiest sounding 410 kW, along with a maximum torque