There's no need to wonder why a tuner would take the time to hold a Nurburgring session - with Green Hell lap times being more popular than ever these days, a company like Renntech, for which Mercedes is the core brand, simply has no reason not to put on such a show.
As such, the European branch of the aftermarket developer has recently taken a Mercedes-AMG GT S round the infamous German track. We're looking at the company's development car, which has been gifted with a decent amount of what we'd call light mods (more on this below).
With Andreas Simonsen, a pro racers who drives the Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 circuit machine, behind the wheel, the Renntech GT S managed to get from Bridge to Gantry (the Touristenfahrten course) in 7:12, while the full lap took 7:28.
To put this into perspective, we'll mention that a stock GT S needs 7:35 to complete the task, while the current GT R range-topper did it in 7:10. Nevertheless, the latter time comes from a Sport Auto test and we have solid reasons to believe Mercedes-AMG is working to set a factory lap time these days.
As for the custom goodies mentioned above, the list includes an ECU upgrade that takes the supercar's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 to 604 hp and 605 lb-ft (820 Nm) of twist, a beefier braking system, a custom suspension setup, as well as uber-light wheels shod in Michelin Cup2 rubber.
On the aerodynamic front, the full Renntech kit includes the front splitter, the side skirts, the rear diffuser, as well as a "DTM-style" wing.
After checking out the Nordschleife sprint of the animal, there are two matters that drew our attention in particular fashion
First of all, the handling balance of the Renntech GT S seems to involve a rather swift transition from the generous understeer safety net to the part that requires countersteer work.
Secondly, we couldn't help but notice that, over the course of the light traffic lap, the Mercedes-AMG mostly encountered BMWs and Porsches. Well, somehow all three Zuffenhsausen machines involved in the adventure ended up in situations that costed Simonsen a bit of time, while we can't say the same about Bimmers. Oh well, it looks like Ring coincidences can sometimes be amusing.
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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