No more is the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series the king of the automaker’s sports car range. That mantle is now held by the 2023 Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series. The car is based on the AMG GT Black Series but crucially, it is not street legal. It has been introduced to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the AMG brand and brings together some of the automaker’s learnings from its GT3 and GT4 racing programs. Just 55 units will be produced worldwide.
Found at the heart of the AMG GT Track
Series is the same basic 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 as the Black Series,
complete with a flat-plane crank. However, Mercedes-AMG has fitted new
motorsport fuel injectors and tuned the ECU so the engine now delivers 734 hp
and 850 Nm of torque, meaning it has 14 hp and 50 Nm more than the Black Series. Coupled to this engine is a new Hewland HLS
six-speed sequential racing transmission with an adjustable differential
routing power through the rear wheels.
Elsewhere, Mercedes-AMG has equipped the
Track Series with four-way adjustable Bilstein dampers that have both low-speed
and high-speed settings for the rebound and compression. The car also has
18-inch wheels, motorsport-ready steel brakes, and 12-mode racing traction
control and ABS systems. A 120-liter fuel tank has also been installed.
Free from the regulations that govern
street-legal cars, Mercedes-AMG has also worked its magic on the car’s
aerodynamics. There is now an extended front splitter, additional cooling ducts
on the side sills, new wheel arch air outlets, and a mechanically adjustable
rear wing designed to produce more downforce than the wing of the Black Series.
The car also has a large air outlet incorporated into the hood that helps to
cool the engine while also increasing downforce.
The interior looks and feels like a proper
race car thanks to a high-tensile steel roll cage, a carbon fiber driver safety
cell, five-point racing harness, and an extrication hatch on the roof. A fire
extinguisher system and driver safety nets have also been installed, as has a
custom steering wheel, a programmable Bosch driver display unit, and an
advanced data logging system. The Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series is being sold
directly to customers by the company and is available from € 369,000 plus VAT in
Europe and US$ 405,575 in the U.S. Buyers will receive technical support from HWA
AG and a spare parts starter set, a seat and helmet ventilation system, a
drinking system, and a passenger safety cell are all available as options.
Customer deliveries will start in the second quarter of 2022.