Mercedes-AMG GT R to debut at Goodwood

If you thought the 375kW Mercedes-AMG GT S (pictured) was a weapon, hold on to your hat because the GT R could be a Porsche GT3 RS-killing beast, the lighter, more powerful, road-legal race car to debut mid-year.

Expected to weigh at least 100kg less than the 1495kg Mercedes-AMG GT S two-door coupe on which its based, the lightweight, track-focussed GT R will be revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK that runs between June 23 and 26.

Mercedes-AMG chief executive officer, Tobias Moers, told a group of Australian journalists at the Geneva motor show that it'll make its global premiere at the British motoring festival, calling the car a "performance revolution".

The vehicle will go on sale in 2017 and will feature a lower, meaner body kit than it's donor car, big front and rear splitters, a centrally-mounted rear exhaust and a rear spoiler. Get a better look at the GT R in these spy photos.

"You're going to see the car at Goodwood. For sure you can expect dynamics that are better than an SLS Black on the race track," said the AMG chief.

"So this is gonna happen, and then we're going to do a GT Black Series, push the performance higher," he enthused.

Asked if there's more latitude in 4.0-litre twin-turbo litre V8 that now powers the GT S, soon-to-be GT R and other AMG models – such as the AMG C 63 – he said: "Yes there's more scope in that engine."

How much more scope?

"That's too much detail," he grinned, but it's understood the GT R will hike power from the current 375kW to at least 400kW, and possibly higher.

The Black Series GT? That could go to 450kW.

Lump in a lower kerb weight for the GT R, dropping the current GT S's 1495kg by at least 100kg – probably more thanks to a stripped-out interior – and the wild new super car is shaping up to be bona fide track weapon.

And it gets better. Moers said active aerodynamics and four-wheel steering will be part of the package, which should give the GT R incredible levels of at-the-limit agility.

But what about the GT R name… won't Nissan be a little peeved that Benz has nabbed its iconic moniker?

"We didn’t ask these guys, but you know it's always complicated but it’s a different understanding, a different way we write it," observed Moers. He explained that unlike the Nissan GT-R, the Mercedes-AMG GT R simply has a space, not a dash, akin to its GT S.

Like the current $295,000 Mercedes-AMG GT S, the German performance car company will not limit the production of the GT R said Moers, who also conceded a convertible version of the swoopy sports car is likely.

"I think so yes. It could be a must-have," he said when talk turned to a drop-top open version of the GT.

Although he wouldn't be drawn on timing for the convertible and Black Series GT variants, it's likely the former will arrive in 2017.

Jerry Stamoulis, Mercedes-Benz Australia's Public Relations and Communication Manager, told motoring.com.au that the AMG GT R and potentially the convertible would be very likely to be sold in Australia.

"Considering what's happened with SLS in the past, where we saw a roadster and Black Series, it would make sense to offer these types of variants in the Australian market with the GT, but timing is yet to be confirmed," he said.