What we’re running at TG: goodbye Insignia, hello GT R
Mercedes-AMG GT R £143,245 OTR/£153,960 as tested
Please welcome the latest, defnitely the greenest and arguably greatest car we have ever run in the TG Garage. For the next six months I’ll be running a car most readers will be familiar with in its weekend guise as the F1 pace car. I can’t believe my luck. The next few months will be an exercise in seeing how far you can push the track-derived, ’Ring developed (7:10.92 lap time) GT3 racer for the road before it releases its inner Hulk.
The AMG GT R is the apex predator of the range, delivering 577bhp (a 121bhp increase from the base GT) from the 4.0litre twin-turbo V8. This healthy boost in power has been achieved with new turbos (which can spin at up to 186,000rpm), increased boost pressure (from 1.2 to 1.35 bar), increased compression ratio, remapped combustion, modifed exhaust ports and Nanoslide cylinder liners (a tech used in Lewis’s F1 motor).
This increased power is driven via a carbon-fbre torque tube (40 per cent lighter than the GT’s aluminium item) to a revised 7spd, transaxle ’box featuring a shorter fnal drive, delivering faster, more aggressive shifts. The wider-bodied GT R also benefts from RWS and the dif, combined with the nine-stage adjustable t/c, is confgured to optimise speed out of corners through torque-vectoring, but turn it all the way up to nine and you’ll be able to drift for as long as the 325/30 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres allow.
The GT R’s Panamericana grille features faps at the bottom which open and close in less than a second to aid airfow/decrease drag, an active underbody carbon splitter that projects at over 75mph, and a lot of rear-end aero aiding both downforce and balance while avoiding the need for a 4in front splitter as seen in the GT3 car.
Inside, apart from the very yellow and disappointingly plastic t/c switch, the interior oozes the usual AMG GT quality. The optional Recaro race seats drop you deep in the core of the car and, while they look good for a few laps, are also actually surprisingly comfortable on a longer run.
First impressions are that the soundtrack is worth the price of entry alone and driving the GT R is an event that rattles your synapses and tickles your dopamine gland with every mile. Life with The Hulk has begun... Don’t make him ANGRY.