Go with the sizzling-hot Pro
AYELLOW knob on the dash of this Mercedes-amg GT R Pro allows you to dial in varying degrees of electronic assistance to prevent skidding and ultimately ending up in a field.turn the knob to the left and the amount of help given reduces.
The more yellow lights above the knob the less traction control, until the lights go red and you are in the brown-trouser zone. This is not a car for the faint-hearted.
The GT R Pro, to cut its name down to a more manageable length, is Mercedesamg’s attempt to match the extreme cars that its neighbour in Stuttgart (that’s Porsche) produces.and it’s a pretty comprehensive piece of work.
Underneath the bonnet of this £188,000 weapon we have Mercedes’s 4.0-litre twin-turbov8 that’s used in all the hottest AMGS as well as by Aston Martin in its cars.
In the GT R the engine already produces a strong 577bhp so AMG’S wizards haven’t bothered to increase it.
They’ve hardly been slack on other areas. The aerodynamics for example.at the front there’s a prominent front splitter supported by a sexy aluminium strut; at the back an equally functional-looking diffuser.
The front end also includes little winglets to help the car steer in high-speed corners.
On the public road they’re just add-ons that you’ll be worried about breaking off. Also at the back there’s a rear wing that looks the same as the one on the GT R but is adjustable on the Pro.all great for the racetrack and autobahn but not very relevant on the public road in the UK.
This minor detail is of no importance to our local schoolkids who have spent the last few days gawping and ooohing and aaahing over the Merc while it’s been outside my house.
T£188,000
Petrol – 4.0 577bhp 0 to 62mph in 3.6 seconds, 198mph top speed 22.2mpg 284g/km Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Aston Martin DB11 Superleggera
HE REAL work that turns a GT R into a Pro is underneath the skin.the suspension has been totally reworked with the addition of fully-adjustable coil over shock absorbers that can be adjusted for compression and rebound.this isn’t done from the cockpit, but by getting your hands dirty underneath the car.
To adjust the rear dampers you have to take the rear wheels off. It’s the sort of thing that will appeal to people who take their cars on to racing circuits because being seen to fiddle with the suspension implies you’re going pig slowly because of a set-up issue, rather than a lack of talent.
Also included in this suspension package is a stiffer front anti-roll bar made out of carbon fibre.there’s also a sheet of the same material bolted to the underside of the front to increase the stiffness of the front end so that the suspension geometry remains constant.
AMG has put the car on a brief diet, saving 25kg thanks to a carbonfibre roof and sill extensions. The Track Pack option on the GT R is standard on the Pro and includes a fire extinguisher, half roll-cage and a four-point harness that wasn’t fitted to our test car. Also standard on the car are Michelin Sport Cup 2 tyres.
Which brings us back to the yellow knob. These tyres are super sticky and provide enormous amounts of grip with one key caveat: they don’t work very well if the temperature is under about 10 degrees.
Very well is a bit of an understatement because it feels like you’re driving on Vaseline. Definitely not a time for turning the knob up into the thrill zone.
For such an extreme-looking car both in appearance and under the skin the Mercedes-amg GT R Pro is surprisingly civilised on the road. I’d assumed the solid-mounted rear suspension arms and super sporty suspension would make it unpleasantly stiff but that’s far from reality.
In fact, this extreme version of the AMG GT is more comfortable than the regular car, which could be down to the quality of the race-spec suspension components.
Thev8 engine sounds fantastic and blasts the Pro to 62mph from rest in 3.6sec and to a top speed of 198mph.this is a car with massive posing power, especially in our test model’s matt grey with green stripe.there’s a rumour Mercedes-amg is going to follow this car with a more extreme GT Black Series, perhaps with more horsepower.
I can’t imagine it will substantially improve upon the GT R Pro. If you love hot Mercs, this is one of the best.
8/10