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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