Why is there so little enthusiast love for the Mercedes-AMG GT? It is certainly anticipated. After all, people have been talking about this model since before it existed. It was rumored to be the ‘SLC,’ then briefly the ‘SLR,’ and finally the ‘GT AMG’ before AMG set the record straight and switched the order. So why isn’t the model getting the breathless countdown enjoyed by Jaguar’s F-Type – one of the GT’s closest rivals?

Enthusiasts around the web have had a decidedly cold reception to the emergence of this 911 rival. When scanning through comment boards, it is clear that for each person who expresses anticipation, there are five who disregard the car because they think it is ugly without seeing it uncovered; or they say it is heavy without knowing its weight; or they assert it is not a serious driver’s car because SLS.

Throw out the script, trolls. Try harder.

This is not an SL derivative. It is not even a Benz. Though it is called ‘GT,’ do not expect an indulgent luxury tourer with sporty assertions. That is what the SL and S-Class Coupe are for.

The truth is that the vehicle is as much a break with Mercedes tradition as its name suggests. Georg Kacher of Automobile and Charlie Turner of Top Gear were recently invited to AMG proving grounds to experience the final phases of the GT’s development. The reports they filed bode extremely well for the car, and suggest that enthusiasts around the world should be freaking out about the model’s arrival just as much as your author is.

Tobias Moers (Head of AMG) drove Kacher and Turner in the GT-S. This sportier model has a 510 horsepower, 480 lb-feet of torque version of a 4.0-liter biturbo V8. It also has a top speed of 194 MPH (312km/h). The base model will have 462 horsepower from the same engine, with an unspecified amount of torque, and an unspecified top speed. Kacher estimates the GT-S to cost $135,000 (£79,000; €98,500); the base GT is expected to cost around $115,000 (£67,000; €84,000).

Kacher’s takeaway? The car is “virtually vice-less… The long-nose crowd-pleaser appears to support, assure, and occasionally even elevate the driver with every move it makes. I cannot think of many other sports cars where such high praise applies.”

Turner’s thoughts? “The AMG GT S is the very distillation of all that’s good, all that we love about the singularity of approach of the men in Affalterbach. The 911 and F-Type should be very worried indeed.”

Kacher and Turner are each seasoned, respected auto journalists. Each of them not only asserted that the GT-S seems quite excellent, but also that it has the credibility to challenge the 911 and the F-Type. Kacher seems genuinely excited when discussing the GT-S’s performance going through the twisties:

“The green growler carves through the esses with playful elegance, moderately sideways at 80 mph in third gear, kissing the left apex, kissing the right apex, over and out – bravo!”

Turner was quite direct in his assessment of the car’s handling skill: “As the laps accumulate, the GT S’s combination of power, grip and composure deliver devastatingly fast lap times.”

This is not your daddy’s E-Class Coupe.

Part of the reason why the GT-S they sampled was so damn good is because it was fitted with an available Dynamic Plus pack. This adds carbon ceramic breaks, sportier seats, lightweight multispoke wheels, a firmer and tauter suspension, and active engine and transmission mounts – not dissimilar from the available active engine mounts on the 911. There are two magnetorheological mounts on the engine up front, and two on the transaxle, seven-speed DCT aft of the cabin. This allows the GT-S to counterbalance its mass when cornering, which makes the car more dynamic during spirited driving and more comfortable on highways.

A headline feature is the presence of F1-inspired, faster, more precise Multimatic shock absorbers on all GTs. Furthermore, all variants feature hydraulic steering tuned for feedback. The 991, of course, has less authentic electric steering. The transmission has been quickened since its last appearance in the SLS, and is said to be equally effective in manual and automatic modes. On the topic of modes, the car has the ability for the driver to specify system settings. For instance, the transmission and engine can be in Race mode, the suspension could be in Comfort, and the sport exhaust can be turned on. While the exhaust note sounded underwhelming in AMG-released videos, both Kacher and Turner suggest it lives up to AMG’s loud, charismatic heritage in person.

If all of that engineering porn does not tickle your fancy, perhaps you might be interested to know that while AMG made the GT as dynamic as possible, the car is far from spartan. Kacher asserts it will have an exhaustive options list that “includes an even wider choice of chairs and wheels, a variety of trim packs, myriad leathers, carbon-fiber bling inside and out, matte paint, and roof panels made of tinted glass or lacquered carbon weave.”

The Mercedes-AMG GT debuts this fall at the Paris Motor Show (though, we might get a taster a little earlier). If you are not excited, there is something wrong with you. If you are indeed now freaking out, head over to Automobile and Top Gear to read their full thoughts on the GT-S, and look at never-before-seen images of the car.

By Nico Grant

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