When it comes to drag racing, the problem with the Mercedes-AMG GT is that it was never meant to touch shoulders with flagship supercars rocking borderline hypercar-like performance. At least not until very recently with the debut of the AMG GT Black Series.
We actually wouldn’t bet any money on that Black Series either, judging by what we’ve just seen here at this SCC500 drag racing event. The new AMG GT Black Series still uses a 4.0-liter twin turbocharged V8 engine, except that with 720 hp (730 ps) and 590 lb-ft (800 nm) of torque, rather than the 515 hp (522 ps) and 494 lb-ft (670 nm) you get in a GT S variant.
Opting for the “non-S” AMG GT means you’ll only have 469 hp (476 ps) and 465 lb-ft (630 nm) of torque, which is great if you want to race a 911 Carrera, but a lot less great if your opponent is a 911 Turbo S.
On paper, things were looking up for the Merc though. Thanks to modifications carried out by HPT (Horse Power Technicians), this particular AMG GT is now putting down an alleged 850 hp and got all the way up to 181.6 mph (292.26 kph) during these runs. As it turns out, that was enough to defeat an M2, an Audi RS3 and a tuned BMW M3 which produced 592 hp.
In the end, we counted two clear defeats and one unknown result. The HPT-tuned AMG GT lost out to a Porsche 911 Turbo S (probably stock, but we can’t be sure), and it also lost to a McLaren 720S where it actually put up a good fight off the line, but once they got up to speed, the McLaren’s superior aerodynamics took over.
The Mercedes also raced a Nissan GT-R, but it’s really hard to say who won.
Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration. Full profile
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