Sunday, November 3, 2024

Goodwood Festival of Speed: Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Pro let loose – carsales.com.au

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The wraps have come off the 2025 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Pro 4MATIC+ coupe – a high-end, high-performance supercar designed to give track-focussed coupes like the Porsche 911 GT3 RS a run for their deutschmarks.

Revealed in full at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK this week, the new GT 63 Pro is based on the second-generation Mercedes-AMG GT flagship coupe that’s set to arrive here later this year in top-shelf 63 form.

It’s the effective replacement for the hard-core Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro and is pitched at those who want a circuit-ready weapon that won’t wilt under pressure and can be driven to the racetrack.

To that end, it’s fitted with the biggest carbon-ceramic brakes ever seen as standard on an AMG model, loads of active aero and heavily upgraded cooling systems.

Almost certain to become available in limited numbers Down Under later in 2025, the AMG GT 63 Pro is fitted with an uprated V8 that’s claimed to propel the all-wheel drive coupe to 100km/h in just 3.2 seconds.

Its twin-turbo 4.0-litre engine bangs out 450kW and 850Nm – a 20kW/50Nm increase on the standard Mercedes-AMG GT 63, but less than the GT 63 S E Performance that packs a combined 600kW/1420Nm from its V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain, which is claimed to hit 100km/h in a hypercar-like 2.8sec and makes it the quickest ever model from Mercedes-Benz.

While the original AMG GT has been out of production for over 18 months and unavailable Down Under for more than a year, leaving Mercedes-Benz without a rival for the 911, the new AMG GT should also spawn replacements for the old Mercedes-AMG GT R and the legendary million-dollar Black Series.

For the new 63 Pro, which is claimed to be ‘sportiest’ version of the new AMG GT so far, AMG engineers bolstered the V8’s cooling system to ensure the drivetrain doesn’t cook under extreme stress, via a pair of larger radiators positioned behind the bigger lateral air-dams in the front bumper.

The variable AWD system is now actively cooled via top-mounted radiators (with electrically-operated water pumps) on the front and rear diffs and transfer case.

The Affalterbach boffins also redesigned the front-end of the sports car to deliver more cooling and improve downforce, via the AIRPANEL active air control panel that manages thermal and aero requirements by regulating airflow.

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Extra air deflectors made of exposed carbon-fibre have also been added to the front-end and an ‘active aerodynamic profile’ applied to the underbody.

Along with a fixed rear wing, these measures are claimed to add 15kg of rear downforce while reducing front-end downforce by 30kg to deliver “even more precise steering behaviour”.

AMG has also fitted its advanced hydraulically-linked suspension as standard to the GT 63 Pro, which also comes with rear-wheel steering.

Massive 420mm carbon-ceramic front disc brakes clamped by large six-piston fixed callipers up front (single piston at the rear) are now lighter thanks to their titanium backing.

Recalibrated underbody air vanes as said to deliver improved brake cooling too.

With a top speed of 317km/h, the AMG GT 63 Pro needs high-end tyres fitted to its lightweight 21-inch forged alloy wheels, with Michelin Pilot Sport 5 rubber fitted as standard and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres available for no extra charge.

Speaking of cost, Mercedes-AMG hasn’t attached a price to the new GT 63 Pro yet, but it won’t come cheap given its predecessor was positioned just above $450,000.

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