2018 Mercedes-AMG GT R Coupe. Image: Mercedes-AMG via AFP Relaxnews
A new 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT R Roadster with a soft top has been seen undergoing testing at the Nurburgring. When it goes on sale it will become the hottest drop-top version of the Stuttgart manufacturer’s range-topping sports car.
Mercedes may be getting plenty of plaudits at the moment for its most affordable models such as the 2019 A-Class, but it’s not dropping the ball when it comes to its most luxe models either. At the other end of the pricing spectrum is the new 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT R Roadster spotted at the Nurburgring with a folding roof.
Until now, the most powerful convertible version of the German sports car was the Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster, as its 550 horsepower was pretty close to the all-conquering GT R Coupe. But there’s much more to the R version of the GT than just power, such as weight-saving and aerodynamics-enhancing elements designed to improve the car’s all-round performance. And now Mercedes is going to be giving the R treatment to a soft top convertible version of the GT.
The camouflaged car doing its thing around the Ring seems to be a fully-functioning GT R, just with a folding soft top instead of a hard roof. At the side is the GT R’s wing vent with a single bar across it, and strakes that extend into the doors. The wheels and brakes appear identical to those of the GT R Coupe, as does the rear of the car with its unmistakably big rear diffuser, center-exit exhaust, and instantly recognizable manually-adjusted rear wing.
As weight-saving is a big part of what sets the GT R Coupe apart from lesser Mercedes-AMG GT models, the idea of a vinyl roof instead of a metal one might seem to offer further weight-saving benefits, but that’s unlikely to be the case. Even if the GT R soft-top has the same 577 horsepower and 516 pound-foot twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 as the GT-R Coupe, the folding roof mechanicals and the chassis reinforcements needed to retain structural rigidity will mean the convertible will probably be heavier, and a little slower than the Coupe. But it’ll be a seriously cool car when it lands in showrooms, so that’s unlikely to bother fans. JB
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