Mercedes-AMG GT to stick around for at least two generations

Gorden Wagener, Vice President Design Daimler AG, about the powerful design of the latest family member of Mercedes-Benz sportscars: the Mercedes-AMG GT.

Mercedes-Benz's AMG sports division has been quietly expanding towards every direction these past years and it plans to keep that momentum going.

US magazine Caranddriver sat down with AMG chairman Tobias Moers during the Los Angeles Auto Show press days last week and learned some fresh details about the sub-brands upcoming products.

The publication says that Moers did not deny that an AMG GT Convertible is "on the way", which comes as a bit of surprise since many reports claimed that Mercedes had ruled out an open top version for a number of reasons, namely to avoid competition with the two-seater SL roadster and because of dwindling sales of convertible models.

Moers also confirmed that there will be a hardcore AMG GT Black Series edition “but more later than sooner. Before the Black Series, there will be a nice car.”

Asked if the mystery addition he referred to was some sort of GT3/Cup-type machine, he replied: “We had a close look at a Cup series, but I don’t know if we can make it. It’s complicated to tell today.” C&D believes that the third model will be a new production edition slotting between the GT S and the upcoming Black Series.

Currently, the AMG GT is offered in two versions, a base model with 462PS and the S with a 510PS iteration of Merc's new twin-turbo V8.

Speaking of the 4.0-liter turbocharged lump that also powers the latest C63 AMG Sedan and Estate, Moers told the magazine that “Nobody will miss the good old 6.2-liter naturally aspirated engine”, but he backtracked when C&D said that a lot of people already miss it, stating, “It’s a nice engine, yeah.”

Won't ever happen

The Mercedes-AMG GT has been digitally imagined with a shooting brake body style by independent artist X-Tomi Design.

The chances of seeing a two-seater shooting brake derivative for the AMG GT are slim but that hasn't stopped X-Tomi Design to envision such a model. The attached digital interpretation proposes a front half carried over from the regular model while moving towards the back there's a longer roofline which would increase trunk capacity but frankly cargo space is not relevant in this segment.

As far as the AMG GT's future, we know for sure there’s a "nice" version being prepared which will be launched before the already confirmed Black Series set to come out "more later than sooner." There are also talks of a convertible, even though previous reports indicated a coupe-only availability.

Have you watched those Chris “The Monkey” Harris videos, where he justifies his middle name by yelling and screaming while hooning the car? We bet you have. Evo’s testers do the same, only with less screaming.

Now, if you are interested in gadgets, chances are you’ve seen some of the “unboxing” videos of, say, the latest iPhone, Samsung, what-have-you smartphone. There’s a lot of talking as the “tester” gets the product out of its box, shows us its exterior, tells us all about the specs in detail and then says goodbye.

We’d put the Mercedes-AMG GT S review that follows in the “unboxing” category. We get all the facts and figures, all the “inside” info from the press conference, we even get to see the car moving and… that’s about it.

So, is it bad to have an “unboxing” car review? It depends how you look at it. On the one hand, it’s not like everyone who’s gonna buy the GT will start hooning it around; that much we do understand, and it’s the same with Porsches, Ferraris, etc. On the other, call us single-minded but isn’t it a waste to have 503hp and 479 lb-ft of torque directed to the rear wheels and do just the “unboxing” thing?