The Mercedes AMG GT R, the most hardcore version of the 911-rivalling sports car, has set a blistering lap time around the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit making it the fastest rear-wheel drive production car to visit the track.
In a test conducted by German motoring magazine Sport Auto, the AMG GT R completed a lap of the famous Nurburgring track in a time of 7 minutes and 10.9 seconds. No traditional road car with rear-wheel drive has lapped the 12.93-mile circuit quicker than the Mercedes.
Out of all the true road-going production cars which have lapped the Nurburgring circuit (not counting track-focused vehicles), only the Porsche 918 Spyder, Lamborghini Aventador SV and Nissan GT-R Nismo have gone quicker than the AMG GT R, and all of those three cars benefit from all-wheel drive.
News of this stunning lap time from the Mercedes will no doubt help build up the hype for the new AMG GT R, which is available to order now and set to begin deliveries next March. The record-breaking lap time arguably shouldn’t be much of a surprise though, given that Mercedes did spend a lot of time developing the AMG GT R at the Nurburgring.
The AMG GT R is priced from £143,245 and is driven by a tuned 4.0-litre biturbo V8 petrol engine that delivers 577bhp. The 0-62mph sprint can be completed in just 3.6 seconds and the top speed of the Mercedes is 198mph.
As well as being more powerful than a regular AMG GT, the new R model has modified suspension, lighter and more aerodynamic body panels as well as specially developed tyres. There are options for the AMG GT R available but they can add a lot to the car’s price as the Green Hell Magno paint job it has worn in official images costs £7,500 to add.
