Tuesday 18th June 2019

Mercedes-AMG GT R Roadster goes on sale

Soft top version of the fixed wing-wearing, 585hp outputting GT R can now be ordered in the UK

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Summer is practically upon us, something you'd know about if it stopped raining for 5 minutes. To herald what we can only assume will be three months of wonderful weather, Mercedes-AMG has announced that its GT R Roadster is now available to order in the UK - for a starting price of £178,675.

For the record, that makes it second only in the lineup to the recently launched GT R Pro, which is £188,425 on the road. The R-badged Roadster - which presumably regards everything from an Audi R8 Spyder to an Aston Martin DB11 convertible as a legitimate six-figure rival - is an eye-opening £30k more than the coupe-based R model, and the walkup from the GT C Roadster is bigger still.

 

The car's secret, of course, is to combine Mercedes-AMG's hand-built 585hp biturbo 4.0-litre V8 with a triple-layered fabric soft top. The latter apparently boasts a structure consisting of aluminium, magnesium and steel and can be opened or closed within 11 seconds, while the former will get you from 0 to 62mph in 3.6 seconds and ultimately onto a top speed of 197mph - very nearly as fast as the coupe.

If that sounds like your sort of jam, you'll be delighted to hear that you also get the fixed wing, coilover suspension, adjustable dampers and rear-wheel steering which distinguished the conventional R model - as well as the wider track and wheels. The styling pack is also mostly intact, while the kit list includes AMG performance seats in nappa leather, the AMG Interior Night package, a Burmester high end surround sound system and the AMG matt carbon fibre trim as standard.

An additional £5,995 buys you the composite brakes you almost certainly won't need unless you're overly concerned about the Roadster's 80kg weight penalty relative to the tin top. Either way you'll have the whole summer to enjoy thinking about the car. Not driving it though - deliveries don't kick off till the autumn. Typical.

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Inspired? Search for a Mercedes-AMG GT here

[B17NNS]

Stupid spoiler is stupid.

[B17NNS]

Three year old coupes with next to no miles are in the mid 60’s.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[B17NNS]

CooperS said:

Thats not an R spec'd car...... not exactly a fair comparison.

Fair point. I admit I don’t know a whole lot about the GT or how the R differs. Just struck me that the very lightly used three year old coupe looked like an awful lot of car for the money.

560 bhp seems to be straightforward enough for the regular GT with a Stage 1 remap.

[B17NNS]

Chapppers said:

This is one of, if not the only cars out there where I much prefer the standard model to the cooking one.

A base/standard model is the cooking version isn’t it?