How A GT3 Racer Inspired AMG's New Black Series

Track-ready components in the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series’ genes go beyond a mega twin-turbo V8 and rear-wheel drive

- Louis Cordony

One look at the new GT Black Series is enough to convince you that maybe Mercedes-AMG actually did put number plates on a racecar.

AMG certainly delights in making comparisons to its track-bred weaponry; for example, when aero boss Gustavo Estrada talks about how the Black Series carves through the air. “At the front we have the new significantly wider inlet, this is a carry over from our GT3 racecar,” he says in a promotional video. “It increases furthermore the cooling efficiency and eliminates the need for separate inlets for wheel arch radiators.”

Given the biggest difference in performance between highend sports cars and their GT3 spin-offs comes down to the grip generated through downforce, AMG worked hard to close that gap with the Black Series. It says the Black Series produces “well over” 400kg at 250km/h. The Porsche 911 GT2 RS, a car the Black Series will be hoping to thump for the Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record, is claimed to make 450kg of downforce but at a much higher 340km/h speed.

How far that is from a GT3 car is hard to say. AMG’s customer racing division keeps tight lipped on the GT3 car’s downforce figures for competitive reasons, but we’d safely assume the Black Series fares much closer to the toned-down Mercedes-AMG GT4 racer. Still, the Black Series has taken plenty of cues from the recently updated GT3 racer.