- Uses the same twin-turbo V8 but heavily reworked
- Is festooned with aero bits and loads of carbon fibre
Cars wearing the ‘Black Series’ badge are the most notorious scoundrels of the Mercedes-AMG family who infamously devour themselves. And the German carmaker has conjured a new one and this times it’s adorned on the flagship AMG GT. So the AMG GT Black Series appears like the Venom Symbiote on Eddie Brock.
Power comes from a reworked version of the tried-and-tested twin-turbo 4.0-litre. Internally named M178 LS2, the V8 is dialled up to eleven making it the most powerful iteration till date. It produces 730bhp and a twisting force of 800Nm with its tweaked internals and a ‘hot V8’. The tweaks include new camshafts along with flat-plane crank, revised manifold and new firing order. Even the compressors of the turbo have grown in size.
Shifting cogs in mere milliseconds is the familiar seven-speed DCT placed on the rear axle sending power to rear wheels only. As a result, the AMG GT Black Series can scamper down a straight line to 100kmph from standstill in mere 3.2 seconds. Meanwhile, 200kmph will show up on the speedo in under nine seconds. Top speed is 325kmph.
Helping the AMG GT Black Series to unleash hell is the sophisticated active aerodynamics borrowed straight from the GT3 race car. Upfront, there’s a larger radiator grille joined by a manually-adjustable active lip-splitter aiding downforce for high-speed cornering. Beyond that, the front fender gets shark-like gills to allow airflow over the wheels and also cool those massive brakes. And if that’s not enough, the long bonnet is carved with a huge exhaust outlet to provide more breathing space for the V8. On the side, additional air ducts are integrated into the sill for cooling rear axle brakes.
Then there’s the massive wing bolted at the back and the racecar-like rear diffusers. The wing carries a dual-blade aerofoil design and can be adjusted by 20 degrees electronically. The flap can also be retracted or extended via a console-mounted button. Even the flat-underbody aids in aerodynamics by channelling air in all the right places. Of course, all the aero bits are made of carbon fibre to keep the weight down. Lastly, the AMG-spec wheels are wrapped in either soft-compound or hard-compound of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres.
Inside, there’s Nappa leather with contrast orange stitches and a loop-pull instead of door handles. Lightweight carbon-fibre bucket seats are also on offer along with the usual AMG buttons and switches. And a Track Pack could get you four-point seatbelt and fire extinguisher along with a titanium-tube roll cage as well.
Mercedes-AMG hasn’t disclosed the asking price for the AMG GT Black Series. Or how many units will be built. But deliveries are slated for 2021. Get your chequebooks ready, gentlemen.
