Getting an itch for an AMG GT

[cardigankid]

I am beginning to think that an AMG GT looks like a lot of car for the money. A good alternative to a GT Porsche if rather different, and maybe stronger in character.

Is this a car you might expect to negotiate money off for a new purchase, or is there a waiting list?

A preliminary look on the net suggests that the GT C Coupe may be the best option. Not as track oriented as the R, but sharing the larger body which imho looks the part and with the rear wheel steering.

Any updates in the pipeline?

Stratstone Merc Glasgow have a couple in stock, an R for which they are looking for £180k and a 2016 S for which they seem to be expecting to get more or less the new price. Neither particularly float my boat.

Any suggestions or advice?

[CyCy]

Personally think it's worth waiting on the facelift. LOTS of updated tech on the inside.

[cardigankid]

Any idea when that might happen? Geneva? Or possibly the next model year?

Edited by cardigankid on Saturday 5th January 00:53

[va1o]

Pretty sure the facelift is orderable now with first deliveries due ~May

[Graveworm]

An ex pat at Affalterbach said for UK roads he would spec the GTs but option the rear wheel steer as the narrower body would work better here. I haven't driven the S but I have the C (Convertible) and the R. On the road or to live with I preferred the C.

[threesixty]

Graveworm said:

An ex pat at Affalterbach said for UK roads he would spec the GTs but option the rear wheel steer as the narrower body would work better here. I haven't driven the S but I have the C (Convertible) and the R. On the road or to live with I preferred the C.

Is the RWS an option on the S?

[cardigankid]

I don’t think so.

I don’t plan to spend much time roaring around country lanes so I don’t think the extra width is going to be an issue. Does anyone have any views on the relative merits of the coupe and the convertible?

[Graveworm]

threesixty said:

Is the RWS an option on the S?

He said it was, I am 100 percent he would know.

[Graveworm]

cardigankid said:

I don’t think so.

I don’t plan to spend much time roaring around country lanes so I don’t think the extra width is going to be an issue. Does anyone have any views on the relative merits of the coupe and the convertible?

For me the convertible was very well sorted. But as I said I drove the GTC convertible and a GTR so some other differences beside the rag top. Obviously you lose a fair bit of boot space, but since it's a space frame, there are few dynamic downsides with a convertible.

[Big Brin]

I had an AMG GTS a few years ago and now have a GTC Roadster. I loved my GTS in Brilliant Blue with black interior. The only real issue I had with the car was that there was a lot of road noise from the rear tyres....and I put it down to the cavernous boot which kind of acted like a sound box. Of course I got used to the noise but infrequent passengers always remarked on it. Road surfaces where I live are not good. The GTC I have is the roadster version and the cabin noise is much lower in my opinion than the GTS. It of course has the wider body to accommodate the rear wheel steering. I really like the posture it has.....but it is very noticeable that it is a wider car. That said....before buying my GTC I was close to buying a facelift GTS.

The GTS has had a facelift obviously and now has the Panamerica grill and more horses. The GTC and the GTR have always had the Panamerica grill and plenty of horses.

There is a further model update coming and the interior will be ‘improved’ (for some) as the sat nav screen will be bigger and the buttons for the exhaust etc will be square and flush with the centre console. Personally I am a fan of the current interior. I think the power remains the same...?

Just for reference, I traded a Porsche 911 GTS for this GTC....like the OP I really think the AMG GT’s have something that the Porsches don’t. They are more remarkable and I for one see far fewer on the road. I am so pleased to be back into AMG.

Good luck!

Regards, Brin

[cardigankid]

Thanks Brin. I would be very interested in your comments on the differences between the 911 GTS and the AMG GT C, as I suppose the alternative is to wait for the 992 GTS to come out, the benefit being a manual gearbox, nice but not essential. The model you have is coincidentally the one which appeals to me most. I like the looks and I expect that the engine sound will be better with the hood down. Do you agree that the Roadster is as sharp as the coupe? Which seats do you think are best?

[Big Brin]

CardiganKid....I’ll give you a view but my strong suggestion is have a go in all the cars you’re thinking of buying. You’ll know which one suits. My problem is I have never had the sense to do just that. I buy with the part of my brain that thinks I’m getting a good deal. Right car - right price has been my mantra; never really mattered what the car actually was. And this has fuelled the desire to buy, experience a car an move on. If I had an ounce of sense, I’d try all possibilities and buy the best for me and stick with it. I wish I had tried the GTC when I was looking for my Porsche. Anyway, here’s the best comparison I can give from my own perspective.....The 911 GTS is a wonderful car in its own right. In GTS form the 911 really looks the part and on mine I avoided too many bells and whistles because for me it was a road car. No four wheel steering, no PCCB....in essence just a decent car spec’d for the road...so a rear wind screen wiper was a chosen additional extra! GTS spec gives centre lock wheels and other standard goodies. I bought the 911 basically as I had got wrapped up in the whole Porsche 70th anniversary lark and the car always came top of any road tests. The 911 is frankly amazingly designed...best visibility ever, 4 seats, superb gearbox, but the noise of the twin turbo 3.0 is an acquired taste. But to cut a long story short, I couldn’t bond with it. There was ‘something’ missing. And besides I had some issues with an inherent rattle that was never solved and it drove me mad. I got to a point where I opened the garage door and didn’t really want to drive the car. It had to go.

GTC is a completely different concept. Obviously the roadster is a convertible and only has two seats. V8 rather than flat 6 gives a completely different feel and sound. Front engined too so it has to dwell under a bonnet which you can actually struggle to see past from the cockpit. Superb view forward. The power delivery of the cars is very different. Porsche has low down torque but not in same league as the AMG. The AMG provides a really guttural sound rack. It almost sounds like a speedboat and as you sit in it with the roof down you can put imagine it too. 911 requires more revs to give same experience and it is damn quick, but you don’t have the sensation that the AMG gives. By far, I prefer the V8. Visibility isn’t very good at junctions as you can’t see ‘through’ the soft top. Visibility through the rear window is not great. The GTC is a wide car compared to the 911, even the wide bodied 911. Probably by a whole foot! I am a Merc fan, so probably am biased.

As for seats - there appear to be three types in an AMG; bucket, sports and normal. I can’t get on with the buckets (in a GTR) and aesthetically I don’t like them. Sports look best but I have had, in both my AMG’s, the normal seats. They are comfortable and supportive but I’d speculate that arguments will rage about residual residual values if you have this seat or the other. I hink but I am not sure that only the buckets are available in the GTR and sports and the normal seats in other variants have memory (?). 911 seats were superbly comfortable (best ever) and in my car I had 18 way adjustment with memory.

So just to reiterate...I’d suggest have a go in a 911 and then in the AMGs...

Best of luck; regards, Brin

Edited by Big Brin on Wednesday 23 January 05:13