Mercedes-AMG ends production of GT sports car after 8 years

The popular Formula One safety car and the second-fastest production car at the Nurburgring have reached the end of their model life.

CEO Philipp Schiemer confirmed in an interview that Mercedes-AMG has stopped production of the GT sports car. The Mercedes-AMG GT served as the brand's flagship two-seater sports car after it succeeded the SLS AMG back in 2014.

Produced in coupe and roadster body styles, the GT was only the second sports car entirely developed in-house by Mercedes-AMG. It was also one of the first few sports cars that utilized a “hot-vee” configuration where its turbocharger was placed inside the cylinder banks, reducing turbo lag and providing better engine packaging.

Its most powerful road-legal version came in the GT Black Series form with a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 engine that produced 720 horsepower. The sports car also proved it could handle its immense power. At one point, it held the fastest lap for a production car in the Nurburgring by setting a 6:43.616 lap time at the Green Hell. It was only eclipsed by the tuned Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR by a mere three-tenths.

The big question now is: Is the successor on the way? Well, according to the Mercedes-AMG CEO, the answer is yes. “I think the GT was a success, and I think it's very easy to see that we will make a successor out of it,” said Scheimer.

However, there are indications that we may no longer see the new Mercedes-AMG two-seat sports car as a V8-powered monster. The German brand proved they could squeeze out 680 PS and 1020 Nm in a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbo plug-in hybrid in the recently launched C63 S E-Performance. Or perhaps, it could even have no engine at all and go the all-electric route.

With manufacturers nowadays focusing on downsizing, hybridization, and electrification, the V8-powered Mercedes-AMG GT may be the last of its kind.

Source : Road and Track