Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
Nobody knows how the R-based special edition of the Mercedes-AMG GT will be called. What is certain, however, is that the Black Series nameplate will come back after a long hiatus. More to the point, the last time that Mercedes-Benz and AMG produced a Black Series was in 2015 in the guise of the C 63 with the 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine.
Supercars for Sale, a website that’s specialized in selling exotica as well as build slots, calls the newcomer Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series. These people expect 700 horsepower or thereabout from the dry-sump V8 with a hot-vee setup we know from other GT models, but then again, some people suggest that AMG took a different approach.
Double Apex, a motoring publication from South Africa, has learned from “sources very close to the factory” that Mercedes-AMG retained the block and heads of the engine while switching to a more conventional twin-turbo arrangement, featuring two snails on either side of the eight-cylinder blunderbuss. These changes should translate to “530 kW and 800 Nm,” or otherwise said, 711 horsepower (721 PS) and 590 pound-feet of torque.
As with the GT R and GT R Pro, the Black Series will send the goodies to the rear axle with the help of a dual-clutch transmission. The wider, semi-slick tires should drop the acceleration time to “under three seconds” and the top speed is estimated at more than 320 km/h.
The SLS AMG Black Series from a few years back lost 154 pounds (70 kilograms) over the non-Black Series, meaning that the newcomer should follow suit with fewer creature comforts and extra-thin glass. Looking at the bigger picture, Mercedes-AMG has to drop the curb weight in order to compete against the likes of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS and more mainstream supercars such as the McLaren 720S (530 kW) and Ferrari 488 Pista (also 530 kW).
On that note, there are two questions that haven’t been answered yet. First and foremost, will the special V8 engine find its way under the hood of other models? And secondly, how rare will this Black Series be?
Double Apex, a motoring publication from South Africa, has learned from “sources very close to the factory” that Mercedes-AMG retained the block and heads of the engine while switching to a more conventional twin-turbo arrangement, featuring two snails on either side of the eight-cylinder blunderbuss. These changes should translate to “530 kW and 800 Nm,” or otherwise said, 711 horsepower (721 PS) and 590 pound-feet of torque.
As with the GT R and GT R Pro, the Black Series will send the goodies to the rear axle with the help of a dual-clutch transmission. The wider, semi-slick tires should drop the acceleration time to “under three seconds” and the top speed is estimated at more than 320 km/h.
The SLS AMG Black Series from a few years back lost 154 pounds (70 kilograms) over the non-Black Series, meaning that the newcomer should follow suit with fewer creature comforts and extra-thin glass. Looking at the bigger picture, Mercedes-AMG has to drop the curb weight in order to compete against the likes of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS and more mainstream supercars such as the McLaren 720S (530 kW) and Ferrari 488 Pista (also 530 kW).
On that note, there are two questions that haven’t been answered yet. First and foremost, will the special V8 engine find its way under the hood of other models? And secondly, how rare will this Black Series be?
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