OCTOBER 2017 GQ.CO.ZA 53Even after the surprising and
unexpected racing success with the red
pig in 1971, offi cial collaboration with
Mercedes-Benz only started in 1990. Th e
C36 AMG, launched in 1993, was the fi rst
result of this cooperation. In 2005
Mercedes-AMG became a wholly owned
subsidiary of the Daimler AG.
And in 2009 the SLS was the fi rst
vehicle entirely developed by Mercedes-
AMG. Th e company now has 1 600
employees and is synonymous with
emotionally appealing sports cars and
driving performance. Almost 100 000
AMG cars were sold in 2016. Th ere are
now 50 diff erent models available, from
the entry-level A45 to the 12-cylinder
monster G65 (currently the most
expensive Mercedes model). AMG is
present in the compact segment as well,
with the world’s most powerful series-
production four-cylinder 45/43 AMGs
attracting younger customers.
AMG development engineers
spend about 17 weeks each year at
Nürburgring, as the stress profi le of the20.8km track covers every possible
driving state of a car. Ring time will most
probably increase when Project One,
the highly anticipated Mercedes-AMG
hypercar, gets into full fl ow. It is not just
inspired by F1 technolog y, it is actually
going to be the fi rst ever roadworthy F1
car – a high-performance plug-in hybrid
with a 1.6-l. V6 engine, plus four electric
motors and an output of about 745kW.
It will bring AMG fi rmly back to the
future. Here’s to many more years of
roaring thunder.0-100km/h 3.6 seconds;
top speed 318km/hPERFORMANCE BASE PRICE
4.0-l. V8 twin turbo R2 689 900
430kW and 700NmMERCEDES- POWER
AMG
GT R
mercedes-benz.co.za