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Mercedes-Benz has offered a wide range of sports cars over the years, but the AMG GT comes from perhaps the most impressive lineage. Its predecessor was the gull-winged SLS AMG and that, you could argue, was preceded by the SLR McLaren. The recipe has certainly been similar throughout: a large, powerful V8 engine up front underneath a long bonnet, and a low-slung roofline over the passengers.
The GT was more accessible than its predecessors though, taking aim more at the Porsche 911 than mid-engined supercars. It debuted in 2014 and was finally replaced by a second generation model in 2013. It’s the former we’re covering here, offered in a wide range of variants from high-performance grand tourers and roadsters, to ballistic track cars.
It wasn’t short of competition either, not just from the Porsche 911 but a spectrum of others over the years, including the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, BMW i8, the Nissan GT-R, Audi R8, and even cars like the McLaren 540C and 570S and GT.
You’ll probably have decided already whether you want an AMG GT, purely from the way it looks. Its front-engine, rear-drive proportions are probably the most exaggerated of any car since the Jaguar E-Type - though they do also follow on from two other prominent front-engined Mercedes, the SLS and the SLR McLaren. It’s a distinctive look and nicely rounded out on the GT by a curved tail that almost has a Porsche 911 look from some angles.
It feels similarly dramatic inside too, as you sit very low with that bonnet stretching out ahead of you. There’s a proper cockpit feel, enhanced by an incredibly wide centre console. Some of the seating options are more comfortable than others, and the gear selector is positioned strangely far back on the console, almost requiring you to reach backwards, but it still feels special. Later models got an upgraded infotainment system, though even the earliest are still easy to operate.
When you start up the V8 engine though, you probably won’t care about infotainment. This generation of AMG 4-litre twin-turbo V8 has a thunderous sound and even the least powerful cars still made 462PS, so you’re really just choosing your quantity of blistering speed. All used a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, which isn’t as quick-changing as a Porsche PDK but it’s still swift and smooth.
Handling too gets more extreme the further up the range you go, with features like four-wheel steering, adjustable dampers and super-sticky Michelin tyres gradually increasing cornering power. But even the regular GT feels nimble, and tyre noise aside, most settle down into a comfortable enough cruise.
Diversity might have disappeared from most automotive segments but you still have a lot of choice when it comes to used sports cars. For AMG GT money you can find everything from Porsche 911s to Aston Martin V8 Vantages, and BMW i8s to Nissan GT-Rs. You’ll even find McLarens and Ferrari Californias in the same ballpark. It’s hard to recommend one over any other, as the driving experience from all is so different.
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Earlier AMG GTs are looking like fabulous value now for a car that looks and sounds that good, so if a cared-for car comes up in budget, we’d not steer you towards any one version over another purely on the basis of a few mechanical changes. That said, the GT S’s tweaks will be desirable for those who wish to drive their cars a little harder and possibly even on track, where the standard GT will be more than enough on the road.
There’s also the coupe or Roadster dilemma, but this will come down more to personal taste. The GT doesn’t lose much by losing its roof and the wind-in-the-hair factor adds a new dimension to the experience. Lets you hear that V8 even better, too.
The AMG GT’s trim levels correspond to the engines each car used. Mercedes-AMG did offer a few special edition models now and then, but these had less bearing over the rest of the car than the powertrain. As a high-end sports car though, you can assume most prominent specification features such as air conditioning or an infotainment screen are standard across the range, and we’ll concentrate below on the most notable differences.
The Mercedes-AMG GT’s dimensions are:
The Mercedes-AMG GT’s boot size is:
First-year road tax for all AMGs was steep thanks to its high CO2 emissions, and for cars build from April 2017 onwards, they’re also subject to a surcharge for the second to sixth years of registration, which currently means a £570 bill each year. That does mean some cars are already coming out the other side of that surcharge though, with tax dropping down to only £180 per year. Prior to April 2017, tax remains CO2-based, which means a minimum bill of £395 as things currently stand.
This may not come as a huge surprise, but all AMG GTs sit in the maximum group 50 for insurance. Actual quotes will vary hugely though, as you can imagine from a range with such a spread of models, so we’d advise shopping around for a competitive quote.
Read our full Mercedes-AMG GT review
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