Published on July 16th, 2020 | by Subhash Nair

Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series Comes With NEW-ish V8 and More

It has been too long since Mercedes-Benz showed a Black Series car. We were almost beginning to think that the brand had moved on from the tradition. But now here it is, and Mercedes-AMG have not disappointed. The AMG GT is the latest addition to the Black Series family and comes with more than just a new look.

Right under the hood, we see a highly-revised biturbo 4.0L V8. It’s more than just a retuned version of the same engine. Instead, they’ve redesigned its internals to use a flat and light crankshaft with crankpins on one plane. They’ve also revised the firing order to 1-8-2-7-4-5-3-6 on this new engine. There are. new camshafts and exhaust manifolds, along with a new twin-pipe exhaust system made of thin-walled stainless steel. These changes result in a better throttle response and a new engine designation: M178 LS2.

Power is now at 730hp @ 6700-6900rpm and torque sits at 800Nm between 2000 and 6000rpm. That’s a huge jump in power over even the extreme AMG GT R we test drove recently. The new engine is mated to a toughened version of the 7-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT.

The aerodynamics and looks have also been revised in the following ways:

New, significantly larger radiator trim (inspired by GT3 racing car) with vertical struts in dark chrome
New, larger front apron with an additional manually adjustable front splitter for racetrack use, with front diffuser in carbon fibre
New carbon-fibre bonnet with two large air outlets and visible carbon-fibre surfaces
New carbon-fibre front wings with seamlessly integrated louvres in the body colour
Lightweight carbon-fibre roof with sunken centre
New, significantly larger side sill panels with carbon-fibre elements which merge into larger blades at the front and rear
Black painted carbon-fibre tailgate with small spoiler lip and larger rear windscreen made of lightweight thin glass
Windscreen in thin glass
New rear apron with visible carbon-fibre elements, double diffuser, two rounded tailpipe trim elements on the outside left and right, and side wheel arch ventilators
New, two-piece carbon-fibre rear aerofoil with specially moulded supports in matt black painted carbon fibre, bolted to the carbon-fibre tailgate. Additional electric flap which can be adjusted automatically or manually by means of a button
Standard AMG 10-spoke forged wheels in matt black, including rim flange with high-sheen finish
New, exclusive AMG magmabeam special paintwork

Aerodynamics
- High downforce and perfect aerobalance to increase dynamic driving properties
- Aerodynamic measures integrated into bodyshell for lower air resistance and increased downforce
- No separate inlets for wheel arch coolers (coolers are fed with air via enlarged main air inlet)
- Front diffuser has two manually adjustable settings: Street and Race (Race exclusively for use on racetracks)
- Wheel arch ventilation, thanks to integrated louvres in the body colour and side openings in the wings behind the wheels to increase the downforce
- Integrated cool air ducts in the side member panelling for brake cooling at the rear axle
- Largely closed underbody panelling and adapted geometry with longitudinal fins and rear diffuser increase the negative pressure surface area on the underbody and thus also the downforce. The measures interact with the new rear aerofoil concept
- The large twin-pipe exhaust outlets in the bonnet not only discharge warm air, they also direct the air precisely past the A-pillars – allowing an optimum flow of air to the rear aerofoil
- Double rear aerofoil with large upper blade and smaller lower blade
- Both rear aerofoil blades are mechanically adjustable
- Flap on upper rear aerofoil blade adjustable by 20 degrees – automatically or manually by button, depending on the selected drive program or AMG DYNAMICS position – improves longitudinal and transverse dynamics as well as brake balance

Other performance enhancements include the following:

Suspension
- AMG coil-over suspension with AMG RIDE CONTROL adaptive adjustable damping
- Manually adjustable camber on front and rear axle
- Manually adjustable anti-roll bars on front and rear axle
- AMG ceramic high-performance compound brake system with black brake callipers and white lettering, motorsport brake pads and discs, optimised for fade resistance and temperature stability
Bodyshell stiffness
- Carbon-fibre shear panels in front section combined with lightweight integral carrier and carbon-fibre tunnel cross
- Carbon-fibre shear panels in underbody at rear
Material mix
- Aluminium lightweight integral carrier at front axle
- Carbon-fibre drive shaft
- Aluminium instrument panel
- Carbon-fibre tailgate and coiled carbon-fibre transmission mount
- Carbon-fibre bonnet
- Carbon-fibre anti-roll bar on rear axle
- Thin glass for front and rear windscreens

Inside, the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series is also a little special:

Specific interior concept in Exclusive nappa leather/DINAMICA microfibre in black with orange contrasting topstitching and matt black carbon-fibre trim, and AMG Interior Night Package
Standard light AMG carbon-fibre bucket seats with orange contrasting topstitching or AMG Performance seats (standard in the USA, Canada and China. Performance seats are available as an option in all other markets.)
AMG Performance steering wheel in DINAMICA microfibre with AMG steering wheel buttons and badge with Black Series lettering
Lightweight door panels in DINAMICA microfibre with orange contrasting topstitching and loop pull handles
Instrument panel in DINAMICA microfibre with orange contrasting topstitching
Optional AMG Track Package with lightweight titanium roll-over protection and additional four-point seatbelts and 2 kg fire extinguisher