PARIS MOTOR SHOW: AMG GT emerges at $250K

The 375kW Mercedes-AMG GT S will go head-to-head on pricing with the Porsche 911 Carrera S if its forecast $250,000 pricetag proves accurate when it goes on sale in Australia in the second quarter of 2015.

But whether Benz also targets the base model Carrera with a cheaper, less powerful 340kW GT has yet to be decided.

The debate about a two-tier GT range reflects exactly the issue Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific has yet to resolve when it comes to the new generation C 63 AMG sedan, which arrives here around the same time and is powered by basically the same 4.0-litre biturbo V8 engine.

“Just like the C 63 S, the GT S is the first into production,” explained M-B A/P communications chief David McCarthy. “We are talking about a car that is relatively low volume for us… maybe only a couple of hundred per year.

“So what sort of price differential would you have between GT and GT S and is the volume incremental? I don’t think it is.

“For people that spend $250,000 on a car $20,000 either way doesn’t matter.”

However, McCarthy did confirm the traditional AMG Edition 1 launch version of the GT S would be coming to Australia, albeit no more than around five cars.

McCarthy described $250,000 as “a good starting point” for price positioning of the GT S, before adding: “We will make a statement on price and it will be a big statement.”

The GT is the second bespoke sports car built by Benz’s performance division, following on from the $470,000 SLS supercar, from which the GT draws its core architecture.

The pricing comparison with the iconic Porsche is particularly apt, as the GT has been described throughout its development as AMG’s “911 fighter”.

The 911 Carrera with PDK (the GT is only offered with a dual-clutch auto) costs $214,550 and the Carrera S is $251,500.

But as we’ve reported previously on motoring.com.au, the technical detail of the mid-front V8-engined GT varies significantly from the rear-engined boxer six-cylinder 911.

And it is the differences rather than the similarities McCarthy was emphasising at the GT’s launch on the eve of the Paris motor show at a media event at the Piscine Molitor, an historic swimming pool and hotel complex in the French capital.

“Not just us – AMG – but a lot of you guys (media) have compared it to 911, but I put it to you this way that a 911 customer or buyer has a significantly different view of the world to an AMG GT buyer.

“I think they are very different cars. Do not make the mistake of just making a price comparison. For example, a lot of people who own an SLS also own 911s. They might own two or three other cars.

“Some people who will buy a GT will also own a 911. But I don’t think there will be too many people shopping them off.”

McCarthy said the GT would be an ongoing model for Mercedes-AMG, whereas the SLS was a limited-production run, although a successor is expected at some point.

The GT is expected to foster convertible and Black versions like the SLS did, and will also form the basis of the company’s GT3 race car.

“The SLS was intended to be one model with a finite period of production. GT is not looked at it in that way,” explained McCarthy.

“The GT gives us a true sports car at a quarter of a million bucks.”

The GT is launched as AMG celebrates record sales success globally, with more than 23,000 cars sold in the first six months of 2014. The target for the full 12 months is 40,000.