Race cars are generally engineered to be fast, not pretty. They are slaves to aerodynamic efficiency and heat-exchange co-efficients. No one, apparently, told Mercedes-AMG because this, the AMG GT3, is not only gorgeous, it actually has some cool retro detailing - that ribbed grille is cribbed directly from the 1953 300SLR Gullwing that saw such success at Le Mans and in the Carrera Panamericana for instance.
Underneath though, it's all modern - a carbon and aluminium street fighter designed to dominate the likes of the Nurburgring 24hrs. It is the replacement for the existing, and very successful, AMG SLS GT3 racer and will carry over that car's engine. It's the classic 6.3-litre naturally aspirated V8, producing around 600hp. Mercedes-AMG says that 'user-friendly technology, excellent reliability, long maintenance intervals and the high-revving naturally aspirated engine with low running costs made it the engine of choice for the new AMG customer sports model. The six-speed sequential racing gearbox for the GT3 is - as is the case in the standard GT - mounted in a transaxle configuration on the rear axle, thereby facilitating optimum weight distribution. They also have double-wishbone suspension - made almost entirely from aluminium - in common. These solutions once again demonstrate how closely linked regular production technology and racing technology are at AMG.'
'As in the road-going version, the vehicle structure of the GT3 consists of a very lightweight yet extremely rigid aluminium spaceframe, offering outstanding protection for the driver. The driver is further protected by the resilient carbon-fibre seat pan and an integral rollover cage made from high-tensile steel. In order to reduce the vehicle weight further still, the engine cover, doors, front wing, front and rear aprons, sidewalls, side skirts, diffuser, boot lid and rear aerofoil are all made from particularly lightweight yet high-strength carbon-fibre.'
Now for the good news - there's going to be a stripped-out, hard-core road-going version to act as a rival to the likes of the Porsche 911 GT3 and Lamborghini Superleggera series. The old 6.3-litre engine won't go back to the road (sadly) but the recompense will be a tweaked and tuned version of the AMG GT's existing 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. Currently, it has 500hp. Outputs north of 650hp have been spoken of already...
"We are entering a hard-fought and hotly contested competitive environment with the new Mercedes-AMG GT3. The high technological standard and fair race rules are spurring us on to push to take pole position with our new customer racing car. You can only give credible proof of your ambition to lead if you're beating the very best in the game," commented Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.