Mercedes AMG GTR | Review, Specifications, Price and Competitors

Overview

Superior performance, exquisite style, cutting-edge technology... This is what comes to our mind whenever we hear Mercedes. And once again, we are right with the 2018 Mercedes AMG GT-R. A supercar which has all the latest technology and luxury has but at the same time, a lot of raw power to push back to your seat. In fact, Mercedes-AMG has never put so much motorsport technology in a production car before. 

The new Mercedes AMG GT-R is the latest addition to the GT series. The first Mercedes AMG GT was released back in 2014 followed by the Mercedes AMG GT-C. The Mercedes AMG GT replaced its predecessor the Mercedes SLS AMG, produced from 2010 to 2014. 

The new Mercedes AMG GT-R has better aerodynamics and downforce compared to the AMG GT and AMG GT-C. The front fender is also a completely new one (more of that in the designs section below).

Specifications

Designs

The Mercedes AMG GT-R's design is from the original AMG GT but with some updates to it. The lightweight high-strength aluminium body makes the GT-R agiler on the road as well as around the corners. The fixed carbon fibre rear spoiler helps in the aerodynamics of the car, eliminating unnecessary lifts during acceleration. There are two types of carbon fibre package which you can choose from when ordering your GT-R. Active air intakes on the sides of the car, on the front and back also improves the active aerodynamics of the car. Apart from the sleek body, the new AMG Panamericana grille strikes the most attention. The 15 chrome-plated vertical fins definitely make the car look more aggressive and menacing. The car is often referred to as 'The Beast of The Green Hell' as it has spent most of its development time in the 'Green Hell' of the Nürburgring racetrack and it has conquered the track with ease.

Engine

Under the hood of the Mercedes AMG GT-R is a 4.0L Biturbo V8 (3982cc) producing 577 horsepower at 6250 rpm and 516 lb-ft of torque at 5500 rpm. Its power is slightly more than the AMG GT and the AMG GT-C. The rear wheel drive (RWD) AMG GT-R has a seven-speed AMG Speedshift DCT. The car will do 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds and a quarter mile in 11.2 seconds.  The beast makes use of electronic steering actuators to move each wheel independently up to 1.5 degrees in each direction. The Mercedes AMG GT-R has a top speed of 198 mph.

Fuel Consumption

Apart from being a supercar and a luxury car at the same time, the Mercedes AMG GT-R is also good at fuel consumption. In the city, the car will do 15 miles per gallon and on the highway, it should usually do 20 miles per gallon. These figures look very good, considering the AMG GT-R to be a luxury car for the racetrack with a big V8 under the hood.  

Interior

Inside the Mercedes AMG GT-R, there is no compromise on luxury or technology. You will find leather, Alcantara and carbon fibre mostly everywhere. There is no cheap plastic anywhere at all. The car is packed with a lot of technology, from collision prevention assist plus to heated power folding mirrors with logo projectors (optional), the AMG GT-R has it all. Even though it is a two-seater supercar, it has a surprisingly high amount of airbags, eight in total. The car is equipped with the AMG Drive unit with E-select. You can control virtually everything on the 8.4-inch display with the touchpad controller in the centre console. The AMG GT-R is primarily equipped with a lightweight 4-speaker sound system but you can upgrade that to a Burmester High-End sound system.

The Mercedes AMG GT-R also comes with attention assist, LED daytime running lights, adaptive highbeam assist, Parktronic, rearview camera, adaptive braking, ABS, brake Assist (BAS), Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Smartkey, Distronic plus (optional), blind spot assist (optional), included in the base price.

Let's take a moment to look at the cargo space of the car. The AMG GT-R has a 10.1 cu ft of trunk capacity, bear in mind that it is a supercar. 

Price

The Mercedes AMG-GTR price starts at $157,000 (MSRP*). Personally, I think the Mercedes AMG GT-R is a great bargain for that price. Let's wait and see how much I will be worth after some years. 

Competitors

2018 Porsche 911 GT3 

The best competitor to the Mercedes AMG GT-R is none other than the Porsche 911 GT3. A lightweight supercar which is very nimble around corners and on the racetrack. It has a 4.0L direct fuel injection (DFI) flat-six producing 500 hp at 8250 rpm and  339 lb-ft of torque. The GT3 will do 0-60 mph in just 3.2 seconds (PDK) and around 3.8 seconds (manual). Both an automatic (PDK) and manual transmission will be available for the new generation Porsche GT3. The PDK will go up to 197 mph whereas the manual's top speed will reach 198 mph.

The Porsche 911 GT3 is much more about the corners and driving fun than in a straight-line acceleration. Come on, who will want to buy a supercar that is very fast in acceleration but around corners, it can easily kill you. Porsche is all about the fun during the journey. The rear-wheel steering system has been kept the same as in the 2014 GT3. You can upgrade to the Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) for around $8000 (If you do, you won't regret it). As every Porsche, there are lots of options available because they want to reduce the base price. Rear view camera, parking sensors, satellite navigation among others are all options on the Porsche 911 GT3.

The interior of the Porsche 911 GT3 is quite boring compared to the Mercedes AMG GT-R. The AMG GT-R is all above the luxury, comfort and technology whereas the 911 GT3 is all about weight saving and performance.

The base price of the 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 is around $144,650. It might be less than its rival but the AMG GT-R is equipped with much more at base price than the GT3. In the end, we need to see how much these cars will depreciate in value over the years.

There you have it the new Mercedes AMG GT-R in its full glory. Let me know in the comments section below your thoughts about the AMG GT-R and which car you will prefer to own.

Mercedes-Benz E-class Cabriolet(2018 ) First Test Driving Review

There’s something intrinsically hedonistic about a convertible. They’re impractical in many climates, often too small inside to comfortably accommodate rear-seat passengers, and usually more expensive than their coupe or sedan siblings. Still, from To Catch a Thief to Thelma & Louise, they’ve captured the collective imagination as the vehicle of choice for those looking to evade the authorities andhave a good time doing it. Mercedes-Benz probably doesn’t imagine that the drivers of its new E-class cabriolet will ever find themselves on the lam. But by chopping the top off its thoroughly respectable E-class coupe, it is surely hoping to inspire the serene smiles (Grace Kelly) and joyful cackling (Thelma and Louise) that can only come from feeling the wind in your hair.

Sisters from the Same Mister
With two-door E-classes having moved from a C-class–intensive architecture to one shared with the E-class sedan, the new E cabriolet is 5.0 inches longer and 2.9 inches wider than the previous model, creating more passenger space. The most important result of that increase is a genuinely usable rear seat. Four average-size adults can happily coexist in the droptop E400, provided the roof is open and the trip is of a reasonable length. The two rear seats can even have heated cushions, a luxury plenty of four-door sedans don’t offer. 

This newest member of the E-class family shares most of its innards with the also new E-class coupe, including its twin-turbocharged V-6 with 329 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque. That engine pairs with Mercedes-Benz’s familiar nine-speed automatic and, as in the coupe, can be had with rear- or 4MATIC all-wheel drive. The twin-turbo V-6 has exactly as much power as this largish droptop needs and not a bit more. A more powerful option—say, an AMG variant—would be welcome, but none currently is offered; the V-6 E400 is the only available cabriolet model.

As it is, the all-wheel-drive E400 4MATIC convertible we drove wafted easily through cities, over hilltops, and past right-lane laggards. It even held its composure through tightly curving mountain passes, but it’s much more at home on fast sweepers than in tight hairpins. The steering is accurate but provides little feedback from the road—although this car’s buyers likely won’t mind. The nine-speed occasionally lurches through its lower gears when accelerating from a crawl in city traffic, but otherwise it’s above reproach.

The same coil-spring suspension and adaptive dampers found in the E400 coupe are standard fare in the convertible. Eco, Sport, Sport+, and Individual modes allow the driver a measure of control over ride firmness, transmission programming, and throttle response. We drove a vehicle outfitted with the optional air-spring suspension, which also adds a Comfort setting.

Comfort mode is perfect for around town, with its welcome delivery of hovercraft-like isolation from the road. The E-class comes standard with 18-inch wheels, while 19-inchers are optional. Either way, the ride is silky smooth. If the path ahead turns winding, Sport mode adds an additional measure of control to limit the body’s motions. More aggressive drivers may enjoy Sport+, but we found its increased engine noise, sharp shifts, and touchy throttle response altogether out of place here.

The many similarities with the E-class coupe don’t prevent the cabriolet from feeling like its own animal. There is a trick windshield header, dubbed Aircap, from which a wind deflector rises to reduce buffeting. Mercedes has stiffened the front end and the floor to prevent body flex, and its acoustic engineers earned their keep with the multilayer power-folding fabric top; with the top up the cabin feels like a cocoon. Then there is the crown jewel of Mercedes-Benz’s convertible technology: Airscarf. Happily back on the menu after a brief absence due to a patent lawsuit, it blows warm air through vents in the front headrests, allowing those in cold climates to extend convertible season late into the fall. During our drive on a 90-degree afternoon, however, we wondered why Mercedes hasn’t routed cool air through those vents, too.

S-class Amenities
This new E-class can be equipped with so much technology and so many luxury features that the uninitiated may mistake it for an S-class. The seats are wrapped in heat-reflecting leather as standard, while nappa leather is available. Two of the several available interior trims feature natural-grain wood. Adjustable, 64-shade ambient lighting, an aromatherapy system, and massaging seats are on the options list, too. A package of optional active-safety technology allows the E-class to cruise autonomously for brief stretches—say, a minute or so—before it requests that the driver put a hand on the wheel.

The end result of the E400 cabriolet’s supremely competent engineering and cosseting appointments is a vehicle that a middle-aged Bertie Wooster might take to his summer home—agile enough to beetle through a hilly countryside but still befitting drivers of a certain status. Of course, this sort of transit comes at a price, and we won’t know the tally on the luxe options until closer to the car’s late-2017 release date. Still, there are few true four-seat, luxury convertibles. We’d recommend a droptop S-class, but it’s summertime, so the leisure class is in Saint Barthélemy and not reading this review. For the rest of us, the E400 cabriolet is all the luxury convertible we’d need. 

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door convertible

ESTIMATED BASE PRICES:E400 Cabriolet, $66,000;
E400 4MATIC Cabriolet, $69,000 

ENGINE TYPE:twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement:183 cu in, 2996 cc
Power: 329 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 354 lb-ft @ 1600 rpm

TRANSMISSION:9-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 113.1 in
Length: 190.0 in
Width: 73.2 in Height: 56.2 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 4400-4500 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/DEST):
Zero to 60 mph: 5.0-5.3 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 13.1-13.9 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.5-13.7 sec
Top speed: 130 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (C/DEST):
EPA combined/city/highway: 24-25/21-22/29-30 mpg

the interesting trivia of importers

Maxmillian Hoffman was a car dealer in Vienna, jewish, and escaped before the Nazi Germans could kill him.

By 1953 he was the US Mercedes Benz importer with so much clout that he convinced the company to follow the success of the W194 race car and send gullwing 300 SLs to America, and distributed them to 475 dealerships across the USA

the Mercedes Benz at Rodeo Dr looks great, I wonder if that's a factory color or aftermarket