Having already pushed the envelope rather far with the Black Series, Mercedes-AMG has developed an even more extreme and non-road-legal version of the GT.
Dubbed the Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series, it uses a fettled version of the Black Series’ flat-plane 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. Thanks to motorsport-spec fuel injectors and other unspecified tweaks, it produces 724bhp, up from 710bhp. The Black Series’ seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is gone too, replaced with a Hewland six-speed sequential racing gearbox. This remains in a ‘transaxle’ position at the rear of the car, driven by the engine via a carbon fibre torque tube.
On the suspension front, the Track Series features Bilstein dampers that are adjustable for ride height plus low- and high-speed rebound and compression levels. The anti-roll bars can be tweaked also.
A set of 18-inch forged wheels are shod in slick tyres measuring 325mm in width at both ends of the car. Under these, you’ll find motorsport-friendly big steel brakes. At the front, there are six-piston calipers squeezing 390mm discs, while at the rear AMG has fitted 355mm rotors and four-pot calipers.
To complement the high levels of mechanical grip the Track Series’ chassis is sure to give, the car also gets a highly-developed aero kit to maximise downforce. The most obvious feature of this is the adjustable high-level rear wing, based on the part fitted to the Black Series. At the other end of the car is a bespoke and also adjustable splitter.
Being a dedicated track car, the Track Series is able to do away with most of the road car’s creature comforts for its stripped-back cabin, although you do still get air conditioning. To keep the occupants safe should the worst happen, there’s a roll cage bolted to the car’s spaceframe structure, plus five-point harnesses for the bucket seats and a fire extinguisher system.
The steering wheel is a bespoke design developed in collaboration with sim racing company Cube Controls, and behind this is a Bosch Driver Display unit replacing the road car’s gauge cluster. Elsewhere in the cabin are dials for the 12-level ABS and traction control systems.
Thanks to its pared-back nature and the use of carbon fibre for many of its body panels, the Track Series tips the scales at a very reasonable 1400kg. This is, however, over 100kg more than an AMG GT3.
The Track Series is priced from €369,000 (around £307,000) plus local VAT. Included in that figure is technical support from HWA AG, best known for developing the CLK GTR racer of the late nineties. Just 55 will be made, in a nod to AMG celebrating its 55th anniversary in 2022.