Goodwood, a Mecca for friends of the well-groomed handling of four-wheelers and two-wheelers that increase the heartbeat frequency, is located in the south-west of England. In a region that offers little more fascination and activity than the mowing of the huge meadows with New Holland tractors of the same size and meeting sheep to vote on referendums.
The Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival Meeting are the two highlights on the lands of the "Earl of March and Kinrara".
When a certain Alain Prost drove to the fourth world championship title in Formula 1993 more than twenty years ago - in 1 - Charles Gordon-Lennox, the Earl of March and Kinrara - or better known as the founder Lord March, the first festival of speed.
Since then, the enthusiasm and scope of the event has grown every year, the queues at the ticket booths are getting longer and the parking lots, sorry, the huge meadows around Goodwood that are actually grazed by sheep have to accommodate more visitor vehicles every year. If such an event grows, it will eventually be taken over by the automotive industry. And while there are automobile manufacturers who misuse Goodwood for the premiere of new SUVs or small cars - the AMG team from Affalterbach storms up the mountain slope of the Earl in the new - tightened - and yet greenest AMG GT ever.
World premiere of the AMG GT R
Goodwood is different - the AMG GT R is different
Describing this Festival of Speed is not easy. I could lapse into the possible prose and terms like "picturesque" for the villages around Goodwood. I could write about sports cars that “grip” their way through bends and, of course, talk about the air, the smell of which is impregnated by the burnt fuel mixture, too much sunscreen on English skin, burnt tire rubber, muddy floors, mud that splatters up to step height and the smell of fish & chips, which sometimes lies heavily over the stands and is now mixed up here and there by the smell of the grape fizzy.
From the “Green Hell” to the muddy desert of Goodwood
585 PS strong, 700 Nm powerful and 3.6 seconds fast at 100 km / h. The Stammtisch cheers. In Zuffenhausen one counts. The AMG GT R takes the Stuttgart city championship opened by the Mercedes guys for the sportiest Swabian in the next round. Since the blank numerical values are only useless brochure filler. The question is: who builds the more serious sports car with street legal?
The signs are good that AMG has started to volley overhead with the GT R.
A little bit of course was screwed at the boost pressure. From 1.2 to 1.35 bar. But serious brain work was used as well. The valves on the output side are the same size in diameter, yet the flow of the turbos has been optimized, which once again smoothed extremely short paths, minimized any resistance and also changed the turbocharger's loader.
Before the boss personally torpedoed the “green beast” through the front yard of the Earl of March, the big show number was pulled off the night before in Brooklands. Helicopters, thunderclouds, a flying container and an F1 world champion with the initials L and H. A show, appropriate to the occasion, you just want to note.
Carbon, more carbon, magnesium and a steering rear axle
Who is with one Quadruple success from the longest and hardest night of motorsport, the 24h race at the Nürburgring, adopted, one takes away the statement that the GT R was developed in the “green hell” on the race track - for the race track, really.
Weight is still one of the most important factors on a racing car and so AMG has not let it down and turned the weight spiral properly. The seats save 16 kilograms alone. If you order the ceramic brake, you get another 17 kilograms less on the data sheet. The new seat shells and many details ensure that the body is slimmed down yet - in the end, the GT R is only a little lighter than the AMG GT s series. This is due to the extra portion of technology that you have packed. Active aerodynamics at the front. An adjustable lip that can be used to set a venturi effect on the underbody. A rear axle that steers at up to 20 ° within 1.5 milliseconds. A central titanium exhaust with its own aerodynamic kit for the rear bumper is also part of the package.
The fact that the AMG GT R makes it up to a speed of 318 is worth mentioning, but the fact that you can fine-tune the traction control using the yellow rotary control is a real story. The large fixed rear wing can be adjusted manually, as can the height of the coilover kit.
The buying price? Tobias Moers, the AMG boss, speaks of a surprise and probably means: The GT R will cost less than you initially think. That would be really a surprise - but I think a 2 and 5 zeros are set. Or at least completely - WHOLE - just below. Michelin Cup tires on newly dished forged wheels are part of the standard program of the AMG GT R, the jaws, which are 46 and 57 millimeters wide, and the reminiscence of the radiator grille of the 1952 Panamericana winner are part of the visual program of the “Green Hell Magno ”Lacquered athlete.
That one with 585 PS does a slightly hallucinogenic performance with the driver, I want to check but later at a later time even.