Mercedes-AMG will ring in the 2015 motorsport season with the sonorous sound of the V8 engine: the new Mercedes-AMG GT3, with which the Mercedes-Benz sports car and high-performance brand is systematically expanding its motorsports presence, will be making its debut appearance at the Geneva Motor Show. Developed to comply with the FIA's GT3 race rules, the racing car will compete in the world's most hotly contested customer race series. Cutting-edge racing technology and spectacular design predestine the new challenger for victories. The new GT3 is based on the Mercedes-AMG GT. Following an intensive test phase, the new AMG racing car will be shipped to the first customer teams at the end of 2015.

The high-performance Mercedes-AMG GT prototype has been caught on camera once again, while testing at the Nurburgring.

The same vehicle was spied in late March, but now it wears different wheels. The aerodynamic body kit appears to be unchanged and includes a front bumper splitter, canards and a fixed rear wing.

While there are still no official details about the car, this could be the road-legal version of the AMG GT3. It is expected to gain a lighter body than the standard model and around 550 PS (404 kW), which should lead to 0.2 seconds faster 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration in 3.4 seconds.

A fully camouflaged prototype of a beefier Mercedes-AMG GT version has been caught on camera stretching out on the 'Ring.

Essentially a road-going version of the track-only Mercedes-AMG GT3, the new model will slot underneath the unreleased range-topping Black Series and as you can see it will boast a more aerodynamic body with winglets on the front fenders along with a huge rear wing.

Don't expect to see the racecar's normally aspirated 6.3-liter V8 engine as the road-legal equivalent will likely use an uprated version of the twin-turbo V8 4.0-liter taken from the regular model . While the AMG GT S packs a 510 PS (375 kW) punch, the higher performance version is likely getting around 550 PS (404 kW) wrapped around in a lighter body compared to the AMG GT S which weighs 1,645 kg (3,626 lbs).

These changes should shave off 0.2s from the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint time so the journey should take just 3.6 seconds. The more aerodynamic body likely tweaked for quicker accelerations could bring a slight decrease in top speed from electronically-capped 193 mph (310 km/h) in the AMG GT S.

An official reveal of the car should occur sometime in 2016 and obviously it won't be called GT3 since Porsche would have a problem with that.

The first outing of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 was sure to face challenges against extreme heat and a starting field of more than 130 vehicles at one of the most demanding circuits in the world, the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Leave it up to development drivers Bernd Schneider, Thomas Jäger and Jan Seyffarth to defy odds and provide an impressive demonstration of the potential of their new race car.

A promotional stunt organized by Mercedes-Benz turned out to be a disaster after a C63 S and an AMG GT S collided.

It happened recently in South Africa at the Zwartkops Raceway in Johannesburg where Mercedes-Benz set up a show to try and lure in some potential buyers in the market for a sports car with the three-pointed star logo. The weapons of choice were a C63 S and the GT S which were probably supposed to perform a zigzag maneuver, but the synchronization was all wrong and the C63 S hit the GT S.

The impact between the two was quite powerful and the airbags deployed, but thankfully nobody was hurt during this rather embarrassing accident, although one of the drivers does have a few bruises. Both cars were declared write-offs and you can see the extent of the damages in the attached pictures and at the source link below.

According to the latest report from sources within Affalterbach, the hardcore Mercedes-AMG GT will receive the “R” name and will be out late next year.

Given the partnership between Daimler and Nissan, the latter probably won’t have a problem with Mercedes-AMG’s decision to sell a “GT R”. It will be a more track-focused version of the GT S set to get more power from the twin-turbo V8 4.0-liter engine. AMG CEO Tobias Moers has already hinted the motor will be bumped to somewhere in the region of 550 PS (404 kW).

Aside from packing more horsepower, the AMG GT R will also lose some serious weight (80-100 kg) and will boast a more aggressive body that will have improved aerodynamics. Other ingredients on the menu include a stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, larger wheels, and a few changes inside the cabin to denote it’s a more hardcore derivative.

Details concerning the model’s performance are not available at this point, but a 0.2-second drop for the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint to 3.4 seconds seems plausible.

Positioned above the GT S, the new R version won’t remain the range-topper forever as Mercedes-AMG has plans for a fully-fledged Black Series version that will likely come out around 2018.