The Goodwood Test – Mercedes‑AMG GT

Heritage

AMG started out as a couple of blokes in a barn souping up Mercedes, the business developing into both motorsport and road car tuning. The relationship with Mercedes grew ever closer, the tuner eventually bought in completely in 2005. The 300SL inspired, gullwing doored SLS was AMG's first ground-up car and powered by its first clean-sheet engine – from that car comes the GT, a classic front-engined, rear-driven sporting coupe aimed at a much broader audience than the SLS thanks mainly to its more accessible 'posh 911' price point. The SL continues as Mercedes' flagship sporting roadster; AMG's heritage leaves the GT to pursue a more overtly sporting role despite the apparent overlap in price and performance.

Design

Underpinning the GT is an evolution of the aluminium spaceframe developed for the SLS, not to mention much of its suspension hardware. It also shares the transaxle layout, the dual-clutch automatic gearbox mounted at the rear to balance the weight distribution in the traditional style. The proportions are classic GT car, with a long, sweeping bonnet and rear-set cabin much inspired by the 300SL coupe of the mid 50s. Obvious rivals would be the similarly configured Jaguar F-Type and Aston Martin V8 Vantage but the GT is both – respectively – more exotic and more up to date than its British rivals. Inside it's both luxurious and sporty, the combination of Mercedes opulence and AMG sportiness balanced with some style. 

Performance

As it stands the 4.0-litre V8 is available in two states of tune, 462bhp as tested here and 510bhp for the S version. The GT R that made its world debut at the Festival of Speed will boast 585hp but even in this 'entry level' tune the GT feels thrillingly fast, the point hammered home by one of the great V8 engine notes of the modern era. There are various 911 options available at this price but, this side of a Turbo, the GT has enough punch to live up to AMG's muscle car image while the balanced chassis and configurable driver options give you a wide range of options in how to deploy it. There are sharper, faster cars at this price but the GT counters with sheer charisma, underpinned by the quality and luxury you'd expect of any Mercedes product. 

Passion

AMG has the luxury of drawing upon Mercedes formidable history in '50s sportscar racing, those years before the infamous Le Mans crash of 1955, seeing 300SLs in various forms winning at Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, Carrera Panamericana and Targa Florio. And from its name to its classic proportions the AMG GT fully lives up to this heritage, successfully translating it into the modern age. Some of the SLS's rough edges have been polished off, this and the price making it more accessible than before. And purists may feel it's perhaps lost a little too much of the raw AMG spirit. Overall though it's a confident, characterful car that thrills with its performance, its looks and its provenance. In a sector packed with emotive machines the GT has more than enough character to hold its own.

Price tag of our car – £104,930 (£92,200 list price + £12,730 of optional extras)