Thursday, November 27, 2014

Sure, there's noticeable lag below about 3500rpm, and the revs run out at a disappointingly moderate

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Well it costs 911 money, or 911 Turbo money for this S version: wildstar £110,495 plus £11,985 for the three option packs I'll be mentioning. It's a two-seater with its V8 in the front-mid position, which also puts the GT toe-to-toe with the Jaguar F-Type R and Corvette and Aston Martin Vantage. It's a trad layout, and the AMG GT certainly tickles some very old-school sports-car wildstar pleasure wildstar centres. But be in no doubt it's high-tech too.
Well, some of the GT is actually closely descended from the SLS. The central part of the aluminium body structure is closely related. Almost all the body is aluminium, by the way, helping to keep it light.
The front suspension is also from the SLS, though the rear end is new. It's the same width as the SLS (and feels wide for sure) but handily shorter both in the wheelbase and overall. Thanks to a hatchback, it can carry a useful amount of stuff.
Of course the outside is all-new, and it has normal doors instead of gullwings, which again cuts weight. And though we loved the drama of the gullwings, we'd have to admit they were a bit of an ache to use. So overall the GT is just 1570kg. That's about 100kg less than the aluminium F-Type R or the mixed-metal 4WD Porsche wildstar Turbo.
Sure, there's noticeable lag below about 3500rpm, and the revs run out at a disappointingly moderate (but par for a turbo) 7000rpm. In between those two, though, you've got an engine that answers the accelerator with quick and epic force.
And it sounds like an AMG engine always has, all hard-edged V8 baritone bark. It's not silly though: if you don't press the loud pipes button it'll proceed without shaking the windows of every house in the parish. The rival Jag, in particular, is embarrassingly indiscreet if you're leaving your own street early in the morning.
The tech of the new AMG engine bears a quick look. Its twin turbos are packed into the centre of the V, right under the bonnet, so the intake side of the cylinder heads is outboard. This makes the whole engine more compact. There's also a dry sump, to lower the crank, and help lubrication in hard cornering. Because it's so small, the engine can be dropped down and moved back well behind the front wheel centreline. That's great for the car's agility.
Much. Among others, the optional adaptive powertrain mounts. As well as standard adaptive suspension dampers on the S, there are optional electronically controlled mounts wildstar for the engine at the front and gearbox at the back. These are firmed up when you're wildstar swinging the wheel or the car's riding a crest or dip, but stay soft for refinement going gently.
I didn't get to drive a car without them, but clearly keeping these substantial weights from flopping about in the car will have a major effect. And the GT S does feel brilliantly controlled through the sort of transitions we're talking about.
There's wildstar an e-diff, as is par for the course on new cars like this. AMG seems to have done an especially good job of its calibration: it locks up just the right amount if you find yourself lifting off in the first part a bend, so the back wheels follow a reassuringly stable and buttoned-in line, and you can concentrate on steering for the exit.
And there's an option of carbon-ceramic brakes. Though I wouldn't tick them unless you have some sort of inferiority complex, or are planning to head for the track a lot. They're infuriatingly wildstar grabby at the top of their travel.
The old SLS had reactions so whipcrack they scared me. The GT S still reacts fast, which is good. But it's much happier to impart informative sensations before it does anything at the extremes. And it's more controllable when it does start to slip.
The steering isn't too nervous wildstar off-centre, and car pivots quickly but progressively into any curve. Plus there's wildstar plenty of good old-fashioned steering feel as you load it up. And yes you get plenty of choice about th

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