GT3 racer Maro Engel has created history behind the wheel of the new Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series by breaking the overall lap record for production cars around the Nurburgring-Nordschleife.
Engel was able to achieve an official and notarized certified time of 6:43.616 minutes for the 20.6km-long track, an amazing 1.354 seconds faster than the previous record-holder, the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. On the 20.832km-long track, Engel clocked a time of 6:48.047 minutes.
The record places the Mercedes-AMG GT Black series within the top league of street-legal “sports cars”, and number one amongst those fully standard, unmodified models.
The sensational drive can be watched below:
The Mercedes-AMG GT Black series clocked its time in standard, showroom-ready trim, without any additional non-factory modifications made. It was however fitted with the Track Package, which consists of a roll cage and four-point racing harnesses.
The car comes standard with the most powerful AMG V8 series engine producing 537 kW (730hp), the latest aerodynamics technology, and a wide range of suspension adjustment options.
For the record-breaking time, the Mercedes-AMG engineers performed a range of set up tweaks to optimize the run on the track. They opted to have the carbon fiber front splitter extended to be placed in the “Race” position.
The rear spoiler’s lower and upper wing blades were also both adjusted to be placed in the middle position.
The AMG coilover suspension with adaptive damping was lowered by five millimeters at the front, while they adjusted the rear by three millimeters. These measures were performed to improve the venturi effect of the front diffuser.
The camber was also adjusted, pushing it to its greatest possible values of negative 3.8 degrees at the front axle, while the rear was adjusted to negative 3.0 degrees.
For the adjustable anti-roll bars, Engel decided to pick the hardest of the three settings and adjusted the nine-stage AMG traction control to different positions depending on where he was on the track.
All Merecedes-AMG GT Black Series owners will also have access to all these settings and adjustments.
“That was a really impressive ride. With speeds of up to almost 270 km/h in the Kesselchen section of the track or well over 300 km/h on the long Döttinger Höhe straight, the AMG GT Black Series is significantly faster than my GT3 race car. Like my GT3 race car, the AMG GT Black Series offers a lot of adjustment possibilities, all of which enabled me to create a setup that was tailor-made for me.”
Maro Engel
The aerodynamic efficiency of the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series was heavily influenced by their experience with race cars. The carbon-fiber hood with the two large exhaust outlets were taken directly from motorsports. They guide the warm air flowing from the slanted radiator setup from the engine compartment. This helps enhance overall downforce, along with the rear wing and largely enclosed underbody.
“It’s really impressive how much downforce the Black Series generates and how confident and reliable it can be driven, even at the absolute limit.”
Maro Engel
The Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series at a glance:
| Engine | 4.0L V8 biturbo |
| Displacement | 3,982 cm3 |
| Power | 720 hp at 6,700-6,900 rpm |
| Max. torque | 590 lb-ft at 2,000-6,000 rpm |
| Drive system | Rear-wheel drive |
| Transmission | AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7G |
| Acceleration 0-100 km/h | 3.1s |
| Top speed | 202 mph |
[Source: Mercedes-Benz]
