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  • From a distance this coupe looks to be a Porsche

  • or Jaguar. It is not. Obviously. The Mercedes-Benz

  • AMG GT S is, if you couldn't tell, a rapid

  • transit system built for two. Long of hood

  • and heritage design, it replaces the gull-winged

  • SLS that had less tech and cost some 70 grand

  • more. Making the GT S a bargain, I suppose.

  • If you have a spare $131,000 lying around you

  • can buy a base model GT S. As tested, this

  • one is $171,000. You're in that far might

  • as well finance the rest)

  • Those extras include fade free carbon

  • ceramic brakes, all kinds of carbon

  • fiber trim and structural bits, plus

  • an upgraded interior package that looks

  • for all the world to be from Lord Vader's

  • TIE fighter. I doubt he's a yellow guy though.

  • Skip the Solarbeam paint to save nearly 10 grand.

  • Mercedes is gunning for Porsche 911 and Audi

  • R8 though they have engines in back. This

  • 4-liter 8-cylinder has two turbos nestled in

  • the V. Martin, who hand assembled it, would

  • explain the lack of a traditional oil pan allowed

  • engineers to drop the engine 2 inches for a

  • lower center of gravity. Isn't the sound of

  • 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque

  • lovely? It's variable. Drive modes

  • tailor performance, "race" being a bit

  • much for grocery getting. Engine mounts

  • are computer controlled for less vibration.

  • Using the shifter? It's a little bit of

  • a reach back, a bit awkward.

  • The rear-mounted 7-speed dual-clutch transmission

  • delivers this sturm und drang to the back

  • wheels. The driveshaft is carbon fiber.

  • Mercedes claims 0-60 sprints happen in

  • 3.7 seconds

  • Seems like they're being conservative.

  • Oh, look how fast I'm going...

  • Only track time can reveal this cars lofty

  • performance, it cruises without drama at

  • double the speed limit. Don't ask me how

  • I know. Certainly I didn't test the top

  • speed claim of 193 miles an hour. GT S

  • does not use trendy electric power steering.

  • It's hydraulic and it's awesome.

  • One thing you'll notice right

  • away, the steering is incredible direct,

  • without being squirrelly.

  • The faster it goes, the more capable GT S

  • seems to become. Aerodynamics deploy

  • automatically at speeds over 75 miles an hour.

  • I think I'm going to keep that down.

  • I don't need to attract any more attention to myself...

  • Gas mileage? Well it's awful of course. But if

  • that's your concern this is clearly not your car.

  • You can probably tell from the level of

  • my voice, this is not as quiet as an S Class.

  • It's not as cushy of a ride either.

  • That should come as no surprise.

  • Even in comfort mode, I'm not sure I'd want

  • to travel long distance in this car.

  • You'd certainly arrive quickly though.

  • Remember, there are carbon ceramic brakes. Whoa. They will stop you all day long.

  • The cabin is snug for a couple, the panoramic

  • glass roof would brighten things up. Seats

  • are infinitely adjustable so there's no

  • issue there. A wonderful Burmester audio

  • system is standard, though the engine

  • sounds even better. Being a Mercedes, the

  • COMAND user interface is here, there's all

  • sorts of ways to enter data, including handwriting.

  • Not just an ultra high performance machine,

  • GT S is also a practical hatchback.

  • Kind of. Sort of.

  • Get the security shade out of the way and

  • there's room enough for just three packs

  • of the two-ply. Owners will probably

  • carry suitcases I'm guessing.

  • The folks at Mercedes say that AMG

  • is becoming more involved and important.

  • For one thing, the division draws a younger

  • and more affluent group. There are rumors

  • that it will have somewhat unique products,

  • not just performance variants. We know

  • AMG as a tuning division but these days

  • it is very involved with the products

  • as they are being conceived.

  • There's a higher velocity GT R model

  • on the way if this is not powerful enough.

  • For those who just love the way the aluminum

  • panels seem to be poured over the aluminum

  • space frame chassis, a standard GT will

  • start at $113,000. And I'll

  • assume it's hardly pokey. Considering its

  • looks and performance, the Mercedes-Benz

  • AMG GT S should fast become a classic.

  • One cool feature about the twin turbo

  • engine, the cylinder liners use a proprietary

  • material called Nanoslide. It makes them twice

  • as hard as standard cast-iron liners and

  • reduces friction. It's used in Mercedes

  • Formula 1 engines. GT S is also available

  • with those dynamic engine and transmission

  • mounts mentioned earlier. The front-to-rear

  • weight distribution is 47-53.

  • People ask me a lot of questions about

  • these reviews. No I don't keep all the

  • TP, as many of you know, Costco lets me

  • borrow it. But I will stress that Martin

  • Campbell and I put long hours and a lot

  • of money into making these look good.

  • I use five different kind of cameras.

  • We drove over 100 miles to get to this

  • location so the car was in its "natural habitat".

  • And then once we got there, patience was

  • required, as it often is. Sometimes its

  • very slow moving traffic that holds us up,

  • sometimes its just background stuff.

  • Sometimes it's wind. Also, on this shoot,

  • I had my first serious drone crash. A

  • huge gust of wind sent my Phantom 4 into

  • the power lines that I shouldn't have been

  • close to. It fell from this height onto

  • the pavement and survived (but didn't record

  • the fall for some reason). I quickly checked it

  • back at home found all was right. Surprisingly durable.

  • There ya go gang. That is my take on the

  • 2016 Mercedes AMD GT S, a fast fine car

  • if you can afford it. I know I can't

  • because, I've quit my day job. Yes, I

  • have finally quit my job at KING TV in

  • Seattle and I'm doing the car thing

  • exclusively that means I have time, finally,

  • for Twitter and Facebook. So I will talk

  • to you all day long on Twitter and

  • Facebook, just look for Driven Car

  • Reviews, not Tom Voelk, Tom Voelk is

  • my personal page, trying to keep a

  • separation between church and state.

  • But I will talk to you on Driven Car Reviews.

  • All right?

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