The GT Black Series is the most extreme AMG

The road-legal but decidedly track-orientated Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series leaves even the previous range-topping AMG GT R Pro looking undernourished as AMG seeks to take its flagship sports car to the next level, and drive past 911 track heroes like GT2 RS.

Every aspect has come in for motorsport-inspired scrutiny – design, aerodynamics, materials, weight, stiffness – while the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 is so changed with a new racing-inspired flat-plane crankshaft that it is virtually a new engine. But all this is expected to come at a quite a price – likely approaching three times the cost of some AMG GT models.

The Black Series (this is the sixth since 2006) has always stood for something special though, so hopes are high. Mercedes says it is the most honed track AMG ever, and while they said the same thing about the R Pro version, there’s plenty here to back it up.

One thing for sure: bald performance figures won’t be enough to fully express the GT’s elevation to Black. But for the record, the Black Series gets from 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds (the R Pro is 3.6 seconds). It blasts to 124mph in under 9.0 seconds and is all through at 202mph. With its high downforce aero, it has clearly not been designed for as high a vmax as it could have been.

The car’s heart is a new V8 whose flat-plane crank is just the tip of a re-engineered iceberg. New camshafts and exhaust manifolds, new twin-pipe exhaust system, new firing order, more manly turbo compressors and larger intercoolers all feature. The result is 730PS at 6,700-6,900rpm with maximum torque of 800Nm (592lb ft) between 2,000-6,000 rpm, delivered to the rear wheels only by a reinforced dual-clutch seven-speed transmission.

AMG’s former performance flagship, the GT R Pro, was said by some to be too much for UK roads – and that has 140PS less power. The R Pro also a 7m 4.6s Nürburgring Nordschleife lap but there’s no word yet on what the Black Series will do. The fastest ever front-engined production GT? Have to be wouldn’t it? It will have to go a bit to beat he GT2 RS though: its ‘Ring time is 6m 47.3s.

You can imagine the rest: GT-racer influenced looks, air inlets and an aerodynamics package all about downforce with the crowning glory of a double rear aerofoil. Its large upper blade and smaller lower blade and both mechanically adjustable and there’s an additional electrically operated flap (automatic or manual) on the top wing. In max attack mode, there’s 400kg of downforce at 155mph.

There’s masses of carbon-fibre – including bonnet, wings, roof, boot, sills as well as drivetrain and suspension components – and more lightweight with thin glass for front and rear screens. The suspension is adjustable, as is the bespoke front splitter, with both street and race settings. Lightweight titanium roll-over protection, carbon buckets, four-point seatbelts and 2kg fire extinguisher are options for the true track fanatic.

“The new GT Black Series represents the absolute peak of our successful GT family,” says AMG boss Tobias Moers. “The performance, looks and driving dynamics are second to none. This project was a fantastic end to my work at AMG.”

What a swansong for Tobias then. He is of course now off to run Aston Martin.