Mercedes-AMG Is Bringing Back The Black Series GT

Mercedes-AMG just confirmed a new AMG GT Black Series is in development, with the upcoming model doubling as a homologation special for a future GT3 race car.

The new model maps back to last year’s AMG GT Track Sport concept. At the time, Mercedes offered few details beyond confirming a V8 powertrain and a focus on weight reduction and downforce. Now, Benz has made it official: that concept will evolve into both a new Black Series road car and the company's next-gen GT3 race car.

As with previous Black Series models, this new AMG GT will sit at the very top of the food chain. The last GT Black Series packed a flat-plane-crank twin-turbo V8 producing 720 horsepower and used it to claim the Nürburgring's production car record with a 6:48 lap—before being dethroned by the Porsche’s 911 GT2 RS with a Manthey Performance Kit.

AMG boss Michael Schiebe hasn’t been shy about setting expectations, describing the new car as the “most extreme Black Series ever.” That’s a pretty hype statement given the weight AMG's Black Series throws around.

“At AMG, we develop vehicles to exceed expectations,” Schiebe said. “And that is exactly what the future Black Series and the new GT3 will do.”

Development is already well underway, with Track Sport prototypes undergoing testing at several European circuits, including Bilster Berg, Portimão, and Monteblanco. Word from Affalterbach is that testing on the Nürburgring Nordschleife is already underway for what could possibly be another headline-grabbing performance benchmark—there seems to be a lot of those lately.

AutoGuide's Take:

A publicly available spec sheet doesn't exist yet, but the new Black Series will need to check in higher than the already 600-horsepower AMG GT 63 Pro. A hybrid setup is technically possible—but it's more likely AMG sticks with a worked-over version of its already excellent twin-turbo V8, especially considering it will serve as the base for Affalterbach's next GT3 rig for IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championship competition.

GT3 homologation rules do allow you to swap the engine for another as long as it's from the same manufacturer, and the car's original engine bay doesn't need to be structurally modified for it to fit. For example, the current AMG GT3 still uses AMG's old 6.3L V8 instead of the road car's 4L twin-turbo V8. It's unclear if Mercedes will stick with that mill— there's literally no replacement for displacement, so I'm hopeful they stick with the beast. It's easily one of the best-sounding engines on pit lane.

Other than that, the FIA will specify rollbars and some of the other safety hardware, along with a spec ECU and software parameters. From the pictures, it looks like the road car is going to be homologated with an aero package similar to the race cars—just look at the size of that diffuser and swan neck rear wing! AMG has also hinted that a new visual identity will debut with the new car—red will feature prominently on the GT3 race car, while yellow and green accents will distinguish the Black Series road model.

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