Ever since Mercedes-AMG introduced the GT, it became obvious that Affalterbach's machine would deliver serious competition to the Porsche 911, even without the 2+2 layout of the Neunelfer.
And now that both the 991 incarnation of the 911 and the Mercedes-AMG GT have received their mid-cycle revamps, the war between the two is more obvious than ever.
As you can expect, the main battlefield here is the Nurburgring and, despite the two companies sometimes pretending like there's no fight going on, Affalterbach and Zuffenhausen make great efforts to dominate each other in terms of the stopwatch.
For now, the unofficial trophy sits with Mercedes-AMG, since the GT R has set a 7:10 lap in a Sport Auto test - keep in mind that the magazine approach means that an official lap would be even quicker.
As for Porsche, the sharpest Ring tool (the 6:57 918 Spyder doesn't count here) in its current lineup is the 991.2 GT3, which needs 7:12.7 to go round the infamous German circuit.
However, the 2018 911 GT2 RS, whose Ring lap time had not been made public yet, will certainly be a member of the sub-7m club, with the rumor mill going as far as talking about a new production car lap record - this would imply beating the Lamborghini Huracan Performante's 6:52.
And this is where the Mercedes-AMG GT prototype in the video at the bottom of the page steps in. We first spied the twin-turbo V8 animal earlier this week, when we talked about it as a road-going version of the recently-introduced Mercedes-AMG GT4 racecar.
However, this could be the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series. Given the traditional all-out character of Black Series models, such a contraption would be perfect for fighting the 700 hp Rennsport Neunelfer.
Regardless of the badge, the prototype that blitzes the Nordschleife in this video doesn't seem to pack the side exhausts of the one we previously spied, but it does have the same rear wing and camo-covered rear hatch.
And we'll remind you that, like the GT2 RS, the test car we spied last time had a polymer rear window.
Until we get our hands on fresh info, you can enjoy the aural might of the AMG Green Hell Magno-covered prototype, which fills up the entire track with its V8 growl.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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