This car pushes the limits
Cl ayton Seams: “Careful with this one,” David Booth said, offering me the keys. “Be very careful. If it steps out, it will bite you.”
David Booth yaks regularly via his Motor Mouth column, but almost as often, you’ll find him behind the wheel of some of the fastest supercars on the planet. So when he tells you a car is a bit on the hairy side, it’s a lot like someone from Texas telling you the chili is a little bit spicy. Handle with care.
The car in question is the 2020 Mercedes- AMG GT R. The R stands for rage. Thanks to the 4.0- litre twin- turbo V8 nestled far back in its engine bay, this pretty little hate machine will sling you into the horizon with ease on its way to a 315 km/ h top speed, assuming you have the room and the fortitude. Lots of cars are fast in 2020, but what really sets the GT R apart is its brutality.
David Booth: Jeff Foxworthy, the guru of Blue Collar comedy, defines being a redneck as the “glorious absence of sophistication.” I often think that also perfectly describes North American sports/ supercars. European sports/ supercars, meanwhile, are always a model of sophistication.
The odd thing is that the GT R lies in the middle of those two poles. Oh, the electronics are suitably advanced, that hulking twin- turbo V8 finely tuned and the interior no less hedonistic than any other $ 200,000 Mercedes. But at its core, it is not any less brutal than a high- powered Z06.
CS: It does indeed feel a bit like an American sports car. The AMG GT R is pushing the limits of how much power a front- engine, reardrive chassis can handle. Inside the GT’S snug cockpit, you’ll see a yellow knob that looks as if it came off a John Deere tractor. It might as well be painted Day- Glo Red with “DO NOT TOUCH” emblazoned on it since it controls the safety nannies available to help keep you somewhere on the road.
Ultimately, the scary yellow knob and its many different personalities wasn’t really explored on the road. Turning off the traction control should be left for the track and very skilled — not to mention brave — drivers. DB: In the hands of AMG GT3 race driver Maro Engel, the Pro edition — same horsepower, even more ridiculously stiff suspension — has done a 7: 04 around the Nürburgring. That’s right up there with Mclaren’s P1 and a Porsche’s top- flight GT3 RS. Even our non- Pro test unit, the basic GT R, is good for a 7:10 lap, making it almost as fast as a Mclaren 600 LT.
CS: Well, what else can you expect from a car that has traction control levels labelled as Basic, Advanced, Pro, and Master? But it’s exciting! These days, 577 hp may not sound all that crazy, but German horses must be particularly powerful beasts, especially when reinforced with 516 pound-feet of torque.
Yet when you feel like driving calmly, the GT R does a half-decent job of pretending to be a Mercedes. Sure, the suspension is rock hard even in “Comfort” and the tire noise never goes away, but you’re coddled with heated seats, a Burmester sound system, Apple Carplay, and a fully configurable digital dashboard. The interior is also exceedingly well trimmed and the material quality is excellent. The only plasticky letdown you’ll find inside the AMG GTR are the window switches.
DB: And that’s not to mention the intangibles, the most important of which is style. Along with the traditional chassis comes a classic silhouette, the cabin set well back in the wheelbase and the engine bay almost impossibly long. Beauty is best left in the eye of the beholder, but judging from the praise the GT R enjoyed pretty much everywhere I drove it, the classic rear-cabin, long hood profile must be hardwired into our DNA.
CS: I agree. The AMG GT R just looks exactly how I think a sports car should look. That said, it is not so much a GT and very much R. The AMG is just more punk rock than the comparably staid Porsche 911 GT3. It also might be more fun.
DB: There are basically two philosophies in the building of supercars. The first is that, to go fast, a car should present as little histrionics to its driver as possible. Tail- wagging power slides may make for spectacular Youtube clips, but they aren’t the fast way round a racetrack. Mid-engine cars typify this rock- steady- as- she- goes theory of speed.
On the other hand, there are plenty of people for whom the sense of speed is more important than sheer velocity — and that’s where the AMG GT R fits in. It’s fast. Very fast. But, more importantly, every ride will be soul-stirring.