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Mercedes-AMG confirms GT racer with or without turbocharging

Hot on the heels of the international launch of the all-new Mercedes-AMG GT sports car, AMG chairman Tobias Moers has officially confirmed a GT3 racing version, though it may not be turbocharged.


In an exclusive interview at the Laguna Seca Raceway in California, AMG engine designer, Thomas Ramsteiner, told CarAdvice that new FIA regulations for 2016 might force the car company to further develop its existing 6.2-litre normally aspirated V8 (as was seen in the predecessor to the AMG GT, the SLS), rather than a ‘hot’ version of new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine from the new car.

“While we still don’t know any details of the 2016 engine regulations for GT3 racing, I don’t think we’ll be able to develop the new engine from the GT. It’s more likely going to be from our existing 6.2-litre V8,” said Ramsteiner.

However, Moers has already indicated that the GT’s standard twin-turbocharged V8 is “currently very under-stressed, so there’s plenty more we can extract from it”.

The just-launched AMG GT S makes 375kW of power and 650Nm of torque between 1750-1450rpm and will sprint from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds. Top speed is 310km/h (electronically limited).

The AMG boss has also suggested that he wouldn’t rule out a street-legal version of the GT3 racer that would offer substantial improvements over the base model GT and hotter GT S versions.

Moers was tight-lipped on the numbers but indicated a 10 per cent lift in power would be likely, as well as shedding up to 100 kilograms from the GT S.

Australia will see the AMG GT S arrive in second quarter 2015, with the entry-level GT version to follow.

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