Mercedes-AMG revives Black Series with epic new GT

Thursday, 16 July 2020

The Mercedes-AMG Black Series is back.

Mercedes-AMG has brought back the Black Series badge after a six-year hiatus with a new range-topping GT variant. And boy, is it a come-back.

The GT Black Series packs the most powerful V8 AMG has ever built, that being a new version of the familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo unit. But it’s not just the existing donk with some tuning and tweaks, some proper development has gone into this. Chief among which is a new flat-plane crankshaft, allowing a higher redline of 7200rpm and a maximum power output of 537kW. Torque is rated at 800Nm, kicking in at 2000rpm.

AMG says the new engine, now codenamed M178 LS2, has faster throttle response than the previous version and quicker-reacting turbos. All in, the GT Black Series will hit 100kmh from a standstill in just 3.2 seconds before cracking 200kmh in under nine. Helping the cause is AMG’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which is located on the rear axle for better weight distribution.

This is the meanest machine AMG has to offer. It’s the first Black Series in six years and it looks to thoroughly live up to its name.

The most obvious addition to the GT Black Series is the epic aero kit. It borrows heavily from Merc’s GT3 and GT4 AMG race cars, with a larger front grille, new chin splitter for bashing your ankle on and a big ol’ two-stage rear wing. The bonnet and fenders get larger vents for better cooling and aerodynamic efficiency while the rear bumper gets a new double diffuser.

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That rear wing denotes serious track performance. At least when you get passed by one on the track it’ll sound amazing, thanks to a new flat-plane V8.

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It’s hard to see but that yellow dot is a traction control knob that lets the driver dial back the computer intervention. Might want to pack a spare pair of underpants if you’re going to play with that.

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Electronics can adjust the angle of attack of the upper blade in the rear wing by up to 20 degrees while both the aero blade can be manually adjusted. The front splitter has two different settings, manually switched, one for street use and the other for racing. The latter puts the splitter in the shape of a reversed wing profile that can lower further when driving at speed thanks to negative air pressure under the body and ultimately improves handling.

Basically everything is made from carbon fibre too, in case you were wondering.

Given the track-first design perogative, don’t expect the GT Black Series to be comfy. In fact, the press release says every Black Series since 2006 is “uncompromisingly sporty”, which essentially means you’ll be able to tell what grit a sheet of sandpaper is if you run over it.

The Black Series gets the same adjustable coil-over setup as the AMG GT R which combines with AMG Ride Control to automatically adapt damping at each wheel as needed. The system has been upgraded for Black Series duty, with Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus drive modes and tweakable settings for camber and the sway bars.

Naturally, there are a bunch of visual edits to signify the special nature of the Black Series. There is special blacked-out badging, orange or silver contrasting trim for the interior and an AMG Performance steering wheel.

Standard 19-inch ten-spoke wheels at the front complement 20-inchers out the back, all wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R MO rubber. Possibly the coolest new design feature, though, is the traction control knob that sits in the middle of the centre console.

How much? No idea. But the ‘standard’ AMG GT R costs around $330k here so we’d expect the Black Series to push price north of $350k. There’s no word on local availability yet either.