It made a thundering entry in 2010, turning heads with those iconic gullwing doors and wheel-spinning performances without the hint of a turbo.
I loved its raw, rumbling power and obnoxious presence. I smiled modestly when crowds gathered at shopping centers – only to find out that they really wanted to see the gullwing doors in full flight.
And then they giggled rudely as I extricated my two-meter frame from the low-slung cockpit.
The SLS, in various guises from Blackbird, to Roadster to the Final Edition last year, sold well and still seemed to have many more years before its sell-by date.
But she has gone. So goodbye SLS and hello AMG GT.
But here’s the good news. AMG have developed their second in-house sports car, with matching performance and more refined driving and racing features, which will leave you with about $75,000 in your back pocket.
The difference is that you won’t be driving a so-called supercar, which comes as a huge relief because it is the most difficult word to define.
So a Nissan GT-R, with the performance to embarrass virtually all the Italian hotties, is a mere sports car while it seems anything with a price tag of $250,000 or more is a supercar?
The two-seater AMG GT, kicking off at a shade over $120,000, puts you squarely in the classic sports car fold where the Porsche 911, the Jaguar F-Type R, the Audi R8 V10 and the daring BMW i8 are just some of the rivals in hot pursuit.
And thank goodness the AMG GT doesn’t feature those fly-through doors – after all, that look goes back to the 1950s. And they’re bad for your back!
It is being labeled as the 911 fighter and it could give you a headache trying to decide between the two. That’s if having a couple of back seats isn’t a major consideration.
While most sports car manufacturers have busied themselves with making their steeds look more menacing with toothy bear grilles, the Porsche people have focused on classy, flowing lines. This is not a physique that lays down the gauntlet at the lights.
The Merc does have a more macho look with sculpted and slanted LED high performance headlights nestling next to the three-dimensional “diamond” radiator grille and above the daunting Airbus A380-like air intakes.
Head of Design, Gordon Wagener, calls it a “setting in which the driver can experience the consummate combination of beauty and intelligence.”
The design ethic extends to the interior with the cockpit and controls being compared to a fighter jet – albeit a lot more sophisticated and comfortable!
As you pour yourself into the hip-hugging driver’s seat, you are embraced by the high wing-like center console and fairly close windscreen which make you feel like an integral part of the GT’s DNA.
The controls are conveniently spaced on the inclined V-shaped center panel and it’s a huge relief that Merc didn’t opt for the gear lever on the steering wheel. So wrong for a performance car!
I couldn’t understand why some scribes complain that the gear lever it is set too far back on the center panel… then I remembered that my seat is virtually pinned to the boot! So perfectly designed for me – if not for my wallet!
But it’s under the protracted bonnet that the real difference between the SLS and the GT is discovered.
Out goes the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 and in comes the new 4.0-liter bi-turbo produced under the “one man, one engine” principle. In sheer calculation, it’s not quite such a powerful brute, but test it on the track and you are left in no doubt that the GT is ferociously fast and the handling is much more precise.
With a dab of your right foot you are rewarded with a kick in the back akin to lighting the boosters of a Lightning fighter jet. The GT will hurtle you to the ton in four seconds and the S shaves off an extra two-tenths of a second.
I hope you don’t test the top speed of 304 km/h along Sandton Drive. You have to keep a beady eye on the speedo with this Merc as it tends to gallop when you think it is at a canter – and the traffic cops don’t see this as a valid excuse…
What is a sports car without an aural accompaniment and the throaty roar, which makes Metallica sound effeminate, certainly hasn’t been lost in AMG’s second production.
Turbochargers don’t always improve the exhaust notes, but some careful tuning and variable exhaust flaps (activated at the flick of a switch) make sure that you keep the neighbors awake – and green with envy.
But the GT is also quite happy to quietly poodle along to the golf course on a Sunday morning. And, believe it or not, two sets of clubs can fit in the hatch-like boot.
What is in short supply is visibility. So if times are tight, scratch the Burmester high-end surround sound system at $5,500 off the extras list and get the reversing camera at a mere $400.
The Merc AMG GT is going to demand attention wherever you go and hitting a trolley at the shopping center is going to spoil the show.
The GT is just the start. A Roadster is on the drawing board, possibly a GT3, and expect more exciting variants to boost the division towards a target of 70,000 performance cars by 2017.
But the classic sports car niche is also competitive.
Jaguar has left behind any remnant of its conservative, regal image with the F-Type R V8, which has jaw-dropping looks and also blurs to 100 in around four seconds. It is in the performance and price range of the AMG GT.
And that’s where the Audi R8 V10 is just on the fringe of the classic pack. Audi has launched a new offering which is futuristic, angular and very Star Wars, which we will only see later this year. While the all-wheel drive car is bound to be swift (3.5 seconds or less) it will probably also push the classic sports car budget at a price of around $190,000.
So many decisions… so little time. And to present you with even more of a dilemma there is the BMW i8 gliding quietly onto the starting line.
It is the bravest production from BMW for many years with a galactically molded shell made from carbon fiber reinforced plastic. And the interior is just as evolutionary and exotic. You are given the alternative of going green or putting your right foot down and engaging all the horses – much to Al Gore’s disgust!
So there you have it. Spoiled for choice and what an enviable decision to make.
My virtual money is on the AMG GT. I was in love with the SLS and the GT comes in at an extremely combative price. All that was good about the SLS is enhanced and refined. What was questionable, like those gullwing doors, is siphoned off.
Maybe that’s why it is the World Performance Car of 2015.