Joseph
The world is healing, guys. The laughter is back, the airport lines are back, the shorts are back. Add to that list expensive sports cars. Sure, COVID didn’t kill those, but what good is a $325,000 Mercedes if no one appreciates it?
Fortunately, the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series arrives on our shores just in time. For a few hundred lucky buyers, this will be the summer of speed: they will get ownership of a wild sports car that recently set a production car record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany. (Watch here If you haven’t eaten your lunch yet.)
To catch up with you: the Mercedes-AMG GT is a front-engined sports car designed to compete Porsche 911 Almighty. It first arrived in 2015; The Black Series model, which has now come to a revised concept, represents its faster core. The hand-crafted twin-turbocharged 4-liter V8 uses a flatbed crank for more torque and faster throttle, and generates 720 horsepower. Its chassis has been significantly (but incredibly lightly) redesigned for the track. Along with the requisite carbon-fiber trade-offs — the hood, roof, fenders, sills, and rear hatch — there are a host of aerodynamic improvements, chief among them a massive two-piece carbon-fiber spoiler that sails off the trunk lid. Meaning, even the wing has a wing. Whoa, man.
The people at Mercedes thought we might love to spin in them. They were right. Last week, the brand moved a few Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series cars to the Concours Club, a private racetrack located across the street from Miami’s Opa-Luca Executive Airport. The track is so new that when you look through the flash of heat you can barely see a racing line on the velvet, scar-free tarmac.
Our time with the GT Black Series was short but memorable: for one 25-minute session, we mentored a pro who trained us on braking and cornering points. The biggest discovery was that the faster the car pushed into the turns, the cleaner your exit was. This is courtesy of the aerodynamic work mentioned above: it’s all there to reduce drag and build downforce. At high speeds, this massive double wing essentially sucks the car close to the road. Instead of losing your grip, you seem to gain it. It seems almost counterintuitive.
The 2,100-foot Concours track immediately allowed the unique GT Black Series engine to take a stellar turn, screaming toward the 7000 rpm redline. In Race mode, the 7-speed automatic transmission quickly detects the required torque for you. Just as fast, the massive carbon-ceramic brakes allow you to precisely prepare for the next turn. In the day’s sauna-like heat of 91 degrees, the air conditioner compressor in my model went out a few times. Downside: Sorry about the sweat-soaked microfiber seat, Mercedes. The upside: Windows down, I could better hear the GT Black Series flat soundtrack in front of me.
In keeping with the theme – an exclusive petrol-powered surplus to welcome us back in later times – Mercedes-AMG chose the event to unveil its newest speedboat as well. Dubbed the 41-foot Cigarette Nighthawk AMG Black Series, the orange Magmabeam was designed by the Mercedes-AMG design team with cues from the GT Black Series. He does 90 in open water, which we can confirm. We can also emphasize that you can not buy the multi-million dollar boat – it has already been talked about. Like we said, party time has begun again.
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