Test Drive: 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster | The Daily Drive | Consumer Guide® The Daily Drive

2020 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster in Sensible Blue Magno

2020 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster

Class: Premium Sporty/Efficiency Automobile

Miles pushed: 226

Gas used: 14.1 gallons

Actual-world gasoline financial system: 16.0 mpg

Driving combine: 60% metropolis, 40% freeway

EPA-estimated gasoline financial system: 15/20/17 (mpg metropolis, freeway, mixed)

Gas sort: Premium gasoline required

Base worth: $162,400 (not together with $995 vacation spot cost)

Choices on check car: Designo Sensible Blue Magno paint ($3950), AMG piano-black lacquer trim ($750), AMG carbon-fiber engine cowl ($1500), AMG Exterior Night time Styling ($750), AMG 19-inch (entrance) and 20-inch (rear) cast alloy wheels ($1700), Distronic adaptive cruise management ($2250), Burmester surround-sound audio system ($4500), Fuel Guzzler tax ($1000)

Worth as examined: $179,795

Extra Mercedes worth and availability info

Fast Hits

The nice: Blistering acceleration; agile dealing with; high-tech options

The nice: Luxuriously appointed cabin; muscle-car V8 soundtrack

The not so good: Agency, noisy suspension; top-up visibility; small trunk; low-set seats complicate entry and exit

John Biel:

Nicely, this can be a new one us.

No, actually. The Mercedes-AMG GT has been in the marketplace since 2016, first as a coupe after which a yr later with a roadster, however Client Information editors haven’t had the chance to check one till now. Our first crack at M-B’s Porsche 911 fighter is available in a matte-blue 550-horsepower “C” convertible.

The Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster’s brawny, low-slung dimensions are obvious from any angle. Our check car was fitted with the $750 AMG Exterior Night time Styling bundle, which switches most body-trim parts to a black end.

The 2-seat GT has been perked up for 2020 with look tweaks like LED headlights and taillights, redesigned rear diffuser, and new wheel and exhaust-tip kinds. There are also additions to the tech and comfort complement, together with the inclusion of Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone compatibility. Slotted between the bottom GT and top-end GT R roadsters, a GT C just like the one CG drove begins at $164,395 with supply and $1000 Fuel Guzzler tax—although the well-optioned tester got here to $179,795.

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As anticipated of a six-figure Mercedes-Benz, the AMG GT C has regal inside trimmings. Our tester was upholstered in Saddle Brown Nappa leather-based, and outfitted with the $750 AMG Black Piano Lacquer Trim possibility.

Right here’s the manager abstract of the GT: It’s 179.7 inches lengthy on a 103.5-inch wheelbase, and squats a broad 79 inches throughout (although the bottom mannequin is fractionally shorter and just a little narrower). The totally unbiased suspension is anchored by forged-aluminum double-wishbone arms, and options electronically managed shock absorbers with a selection of “Consolation,” “Sport,” or “Sport+” damping ranges. Motive energy comes from a hand-assembled twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 in three states of tune, with energy apportioned by way of a 7-speed dual-clutch automated-manual transaxle mounted on the rear for improved weight distribution.

Physique building is extraordinarily reliant on light-weight supplies. For example, the producer stories that aluminum makes up 97 % of the physique/chassis by weight. Even then, the GT C has a said curb weight of 3838 kilos—virtually a ton per seat.

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Regardless of the lavish trim, the GT C’s cabin has a couple of ergonomic quirks. Some management buttons are nestled below the HVAC vents, the place they’re troublesome to make use of at a look. The shift lever is considerably awkwardly positioned far again on the console, behind the infotainment system’s touchpad controller and two cupholders below a hinged cowl.

Journey is decidedly agency—hardly a shock—however there’s some noisy suspension crashing over pavement cracks, rail tracks, and the like. Certainly, this impact appears worse at slower speeds; on the freeway the GT C simply thumps over joints and cracks with out as a lot disturbance. In the meantime, dealing with is outstanding, with a exact “carved” steering really feel. Right here’s one motive: “C” and “R” fashions are gifted with lively rear-wheel steering that gives as much as 1.5 levels of altered toe angle. The rear wheels flip in opposition to the fronts as much as 62 mph however in the identical course above that time. AMG, the efficiency division for Mercedes-Benz, contributed a composite braking system with 15.4-inch compound rotors and 6-piston mounted calipers in entrance and 14.2-inch one-piece rear discs. These binders do their job extraordinarily effectively.

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The ability gentle prime operates rapidly and retracts flush with the decklid for a clean top-down look. Along with heated and ventilated seats, Mercedes’ AIRSCARF neck-level heating system helps heat passengers on chilly days.

Wheel and tire sizes are completely different entrance and rear, a lot so on the “C” and “R” that they’ve 2.25-inch-wider rear fenders than the bottom GT. The stickier commonplace high-performance summer season tires that enhance grip additionally give off quite a lot of tire noise at freeway speeds. Mercedes factors out that the GT ragtop physique was engineered particularly for that function, and never as a modified coupe. This driver sensed a tiny little bit of cowl shimmy, however was far more distressed by a persistent rattling from the sprint that simply shouldn’t be in a six-figures vehicle.

You’ll must pack mild should you’re taking the GT C Roadster on a highway journey; there’s simply 5.8 cubic toes of area within the trunk.

The direct-injection V8 within the GTs nestles its two turbos within the valley between the cylinder banks. It employs dry-sump lubrication to keep off oil hunger in laborious cornering and to permit the engine to settle decrease for improved chassis steadiness. For the GT C, output is 550 horsepower between 5750 and 6750 rpm and 502 lb-ft of torque at 2100-5500 revs. (Respective outputs for the GT and “R” are 469/465 and 577/516.) The engine fires with a bellow from the adjustable-volume AMG Efficiency Exhaust that appropriately advertises efficiency. The GT C is extremely aware of pedal inputs, even in Consolation mode, and the trans kicks down straight away for vivid freeway acceleration. M-B contends it’ll go from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and prime out at 196 mph. Transmission habits is significantly completely different in Sport and much more so in Sport+.

This driver noticed 17.6 mpg after placing 121 miles on the check automotive, with 37 % city-type driving. That might not have shocked the nice of us down on the EPA, who peg the GT C at 15 mpg in metropolis driving, 20 on the freeway, and 17 in mixed operation.

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The GT C’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 pumps out 550 horsepower and 502 lb-ft of torque. Wheel sizes are staggered; 19 inches in entrance, 20 inches within the rear, on high-performance Michelin Pilot Tremendous Sport tires.

Convertible-top operation is fast—the 3-layer prime lowers in 11 seconds—and an animation on the driver-information panel reveals when opening and shutting cycles are full. The highest could be opened or closed in movement at as much as 31 mph. Curiously, although, when at a standstill, the brakes have to be utilized to work the highest, even with the automotive in Park. Imaginative and prescient by way of the rear window is restricted however we’ve seen worse.

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Every Mercedes-AMG high-performance engine is assembled by a single technician, who indicators their work on an engine-cover-mounted plaque.

Fanatic drivers can make the most of a brand new AMG Monitor Tempo show that can present issues like lap and phase instances. Newly commonplace are a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 10.25-inch display for the infotainment system. House owners have a no-cost possibility of a management dial or touchpad to remotely summon audio, navigation, apps. CG’s tester had the decidedly delicate touchpad that we by no means appear to love in any automotive that makes use of one.

One other curiosity is the financial institution of buttons to activate issues like seat heating and air flow. They sit face up, tucked below air vents. The buttons are silver with small icons inscribed on the floor. Good luck making them out at a look.

Occupants settle into luxurious leather-based seats with power-adjustable facet bolsters within the cushion and backrest for optimum lateral help. Seats are heated and ventilated, and an AIRSCARF perform delivers heating to passengers’ necks and shoulders. Tender-touch surfaces and bright-metal highlights abound within the cabin, the place there’s good stretch-out room. Nevertheless, space for storing is restricted. The glove field is of excellent measurement, however the console field is small and trunk area below the hatchlike lid is simply 5.8 cubic toes.

The Mercedes-AMG GT is an invigorating driver’s automotive packed—for higher or for worse—with a bunch of technological assists and methods. For a automotive carrying a three-pointed star on its grille, that’s nothing new.

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The 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster’s luxurious trimmings don’t totally tame its hard-edged, pure-sports-car driving character, which can be simply what some consumers are searching for. For buyers who need one thing just a little extra within the grand-touring vein as a substitute of blistering, corner-carving efficiency–and the experience and luxury compromises that brings–Mercedes-Benz additionally gives the SL-Class roadster.

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Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster