With the departure of the SLS AMG and the announcement of a more focused, Porsche-killing replacement, Mercedes-Benz has had plenty of opportunities to tease car fans.
However, the torturous wait for the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT may almost be over.
According to the blog Mercedes-Benz Passion, the new sports car will be unveiled online September 9, followed by a public debut about a month later at the 2014 Paris Motor Show.
Given the number of hints Mercedes has already dropped, an unveiling seems imminent. Soon there won’t be anything else to reveal.
The carmaker has already shown the AMG GT’s stylish red interior. The dashboard has a wing-like shape that might anger the Audi TT’s designers, while the center-console buttons are arranged like the cylinders of the car’s engine.
That engine is a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 connected to a seven-speed AMG Speedshift automatic transmission. After debuting in this car, it will probably find its way into other AMG models.
The AMG GT will likely keep the SLS’s classic long-hood, short-deck proportions, but lose the gull wing doors that proved to be less cool in real life than they were on the drawing board.
The new car’s chassis will have to be less frivolous as well. To truly measure up against competitors like the Porsche 911 and Audi R8, Mercedes will need to improve on the SLS AMG’s less-than-precise handling, one of the main complaints against that car.
Yet even when it was careening sideways in a cloud of tire smoke, the SLS AMG made quite an impression. The AMG GT probably will too.
