Discussion
I've recently taken the plunge and bought a lightly used AMG GT R Pro to join my Porsche 991.1 GT3RS. The cars are intended predominately for track days of which there will be many in 2021 (covid permitting). Joe Macari were great to deal with and I even bumped into Indy racing legend Dario Franchitti (he also raced in DTM / touring cars for Mercedes in the mid-1990s), who happened to be at the dealership on the day I viewed the car.
I intend to keep this forum updated with my experiences of running the car on both road trips and track days, continuously highlighting the pluses and minuses of long term ownership.
What are the differences between the Pro and a standard GT R? Well, as standard, the Pro includes trick adjustable suspension, carbon underfloor bracing, roll cage, ceramic brakes and a load of carbon aero addenda. I'll go into more detail on another post.
This will be my first Mercedes so I'm looking forward to a new experience. Let's see how it all works out...
I intend to keep this forum updated with my experiences of running the car on both road trips and track days, continuously highlighting the pluses and minuses of long term ownership.
What are the differences between the Pro and a standard GT R? Well, as standard, the Pro includes trick adjustable suspension, carbon underfloor bracing, roll cage, ceramic brakes and a load of carbon aero addenda. I'll go into more detail on another post.
This will be my first Mercedes so I'm looking forward to a new experience. Let's see how it all works out...
Some info on the car.
Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro specification (Autocar)
Units sold worldwide: c. 750
Engine V8: 3982cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol
Power: 577bhp at 6250rpm
Torque: 516lb ft at 2100-5500rpm
Gearbox: 7-spd dual-clutch automatic
Kerb weight: 1575kg
Top speed: 198mph
0-62mph: 3.6sec
Fuel economy: 22.1-22.2mpg [Hmmmmm...]
Vehicle description (EVO magazine)
'At the heart of the Pro’s offering are four manually adjustable coilovers, offering pre-load, rebound and compression settings, the latter for low and high speed. Obviously, that means there’s no longer a button on the centre console to adjust the damping, rather any changes have to be done crouched next to the car. It’s joined by a carbonfibre adjustable anti-roll bar on the front axle (an adjustable steel bar is at the rear), while the GT R’s uniball spherical joints on the lower rear wishbones are used on the upper wishbones, too. A carbonfibre shear panel adds rigidity to the structure by bracing the body underneath, while the GT R’s dynamic engine and transmission mounts have been re-tuned to suit the Pro’s more track-focused brief.
The Pro package continues with the fitment of the Track Pack and ceramic brakes as standard, both options on the regular GT R, the former bringing an extensive roll-cage, a four-point harness and a fire extinguisher. The forged wheels are finished in titanium grey, while the roof panel is now also carbonfibre also and features a truncated middle section: the AMG carbonfibre package is also standard equipment, and the total weight saving in fact is 14kg over the regular GT R. That doesn’t sound like much, granted, but take into account that the cage of the Track Pack puts some kilos back into the car, so a like-for-like comparison would show a greater difference.
The other major change with the Pro is its increased aerodynamic performance. Louvres slashed into the front wings extract air from the front wheel arches, thereby cancelling lift, and the larger front splitter that juts out from the nose is complemented by dive planes attached to the front corners of the car. A vertical blade behind the rear wheel arches helps channel the air aftwards, while the rear wing has an additional gurney flap for increased downforce and now sits on milled alloy supports. It’s not as though the GT R was a weak-looking car anyway, but the Pro definitely has an even more purposeful air to it.
Finally, all AMG GT’s now benefit from the latest Mercedes cockpit design and technology - a fully digital instrument binacle with a 12.3” screen, complemented by a 10.25” multimedia display in the centre console. You can choose from three different layouts for the ‘dials’, and it’s almost endlessly configurable via switches on the new steering wheel, along with further buttons on the GT’s broad centre console for adjusting the multi-stage dampers, the esp setup, the exhaust valves, and so on. There’s also now the rotary mode switch on the wheel, plus a pair of multi-configurable switches just off the rim, that can also adjust any of the aforementioned parameters. With AMG Dynamics, not only is there now Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Race and Individual overall driving modes, there is are also Basic, Advanced, Pro and Master settings that affect steering weight and the ESP setup'.
Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro specification (Autocar)
Units sold worldwide: c. 750
Engine V8: 3982cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol
Power: 577bhp at 6250rpm
Torque: 516lb ft at 2100-5500rpm
Gearbox: 7-spd dual-clutch automatic
Kerb weight: 1575kg
Top speed: 198mph
0-62mph: 3.6sec
Fuel economy: 22.1-22.2mpg [Hmmmmm...]
Vehicle description (EVO magazine)
'At the heart of the Pro’s offering are four manually adjustable coilovers, offering pre-load, rebound and compression settings, the latter for low and high speed. Obviously, that means there’s no longer a button on the centre console to adjust the damping, rather any changes have to be done crouched next to the car. It’s joined by a carbonfibre adjustable anti-roll bar on the front axle (an adjustable steel bar is at the rear), while the GT R’s uniball spherical joints on the lower rear wishbones are used on the upper wishbones, too. A carbonfibre shear panel adds rigidity to the structure by bracing the body underneath, while the GT R’s dynamic engine and transmission mounts have been re-tuned to suit the Pro’s more track-focused brief.
The Pro package continues with the fitment of the Track Pack and ceramic brakes as standard, both options on the regular GT R, the former bringing an extensive roll-cage, a four-point harness and a fire extinguisher. The forged wheels are finished in titanium grey, while the roof panel is now also carbonfibre also and features a truncated middle section: the AMG carbonfibre package is also standard equipment, and the total weight saving in fact is 14kg over the regular GT R. That doesn’t sound like much, granted, but take into account that the cage of the Track Pack puts some kilos back into the car, so a like-for-like comparison would show a greater difference.
The other major change with the Pro is its increased aerodynamic performance. Louvres slashed into the front wings extract air from the front wheel arches, thereby cancelling lift, and the larger front splitter that juts out from the nose is complemented by dive planes attached to the front corners of the car. A vertical blade behind the rear wheel arches helps channel the air aftwards, while the rear wing has an additional gurney flap for increased downforce and now sits on milled alloy supports. It’s not as though the GT R was a weak-looking car anyway, but the Pro definitely has an even more purposeful air to it.
Finally, all AMG GT’s now benefit from the latest Mercedes cockpit design and technology - a fully digital instrument binacle with a 12.3” screen, complemented by a 10.25” multimedia display in the centre console. You can choose from three different layouts for the ‘dials’, and it’s almost endlessly configurable via switches on the new steering wheel, along with further buttons on the GT’s broad centre console for adjusting the multi-stage dampers, the esp setup, the exhaust valves, and so on. There’s also now the rotary mode switch on the wheel, plus a pair of multi-configurable switches just off the rim, that can also adjust any of the aforementioned parameters. With AMG Dynamics, not only is there now Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Race and Individual overall driving modes, there is are also Basic, Advanced, Pro and Master settings that affect steering weight and the ESP setup'.
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