Mercedes-AMG GT3 (2015)

History

When AMG translated the AMG GT road car into a customer GT3 for the 2016 season, it made a deliberately conservative engineering bet: keep the previous SLS racer's naturally aspirated M159 6.3-litre V8 rather than adopt the road car's twin-turbo unit. The veteran engine's calibration simplicity, linear torque and — above all — extraordinary rebuild intervals gave the car its defining virtue: the lowest running-cost-per-kilometre reputation in the class.

Around that engine AMG built a state-of-the-art GT3: aluminium spaceframe derived from the road car, carbon bodywork stretched over dramatically wide arches, a six-speed sequential transaxle and driver-friendly electronics. The look — long bonnet, Panamericana grille introduced on the racer before any road car — made it one of the most recognizable silhouettes on any grid.

Customer deliveries scaled quickly through HTP, Black Falcon, Strakka, GruppeM, Craft-Bamboo and dozens of other teams across GT World Challenge (then Blancpain), VLN/NLS, IMSA GTD and Asian series. The 2020 Evo update superseded it, but many first-generation cars were converted or remain active in national series, GT trophies and endurance Cup classes, where the engine's stamina keeps them genuinely competitive.

Palmarès

The first-generation car's record includes overall victory at the 2016 Nürburgring 24 Hours — a crushing 1-2-3-4 for AMG customer teams — the 2018 Bathurst 12 Hour with GruppeM, IMSA GTD wins including the Rolex 24 class, Blancpain GT Series titles, and dozens of national GT championships from ADAC GT Masters to Super Taikyu.