The successor to Mercedes-Benz's SLS supercar, the Mercedes-AMG GT, will be revealed in a few hours from now. .
Ahead of its planned public debut at the Paris motor show next month, Mercedes will pull the wraps of its new Porsche 911 turbo rival soon. Mercedes is said to have set performance targets designed to beat the 911 Turbo's 0-100kph sprint time of 3.4 seconds, as well as its 314kph top speed.
Powering the GT is a new twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine with 503bhp and 66.2kgm of torque. That same engine will also appear in the upcoming C63 AMG, and shares its architecture with the 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder unit found in the A45 AMG and CLA45 AMG.
The GT also features a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, mounted to the rear axle assembly, as well as a mechanical locking differential. Among the key features of the new car is its low weight, owing to its predominantly aluminium structure, Mercedes is said to have dropped the car's kerb weight below that of the SLS, to around 1550kg.
Some of the new car's components are understood to be shared with the older SLS, but new systems including the same electro-mechanical steering setup as the new C-class should help Mercedes in its search for class-leading driving dynamics.
The GT is an important car for Mercedes, with the firm's design boss Gordon Wagener saying its styling represents a "paradigm shift" in car design for the firm. Wagener also said he's keen for the GT to be seen as a new chapter for Mercedes, and not merely as a follow-up car to the SLS. "This new car goes beyond this [the SLS]", he told our sister publication Autocar UK "We have avoided having any sharp edges and created a look that is sophisticated on one hand and modern and high-tech on the other.” Without giving too much away, the design chief noted that the GT would have "a retro touch of the 300SL about it".
The interior of the GT has also been shown in a series of official photographs. Borrowing elements from modern Mercedes models - most notably the new C-class - the car gets a heavily structured dashboard finished in leather and carbon fibre. A free-standing infotainment system will run the latest version of Mercedes' COMAND infotainment system, with a touch-sensitive controller mounted on the centre console.
Four different driving modes are understood to be selectable inside the car, with one dedicated to a race mode.
Mercedes announced earlier this year that it would be dropping the reference to co-founder Karl Benz when naming the new car. The move is designed to better position AMG within the company's structure. AMG boss Tobias Moers said the decision would involve "positioning AMG more vehemently and aggressively than to date".