Think of the AMG Performance Tour like a brand showcase like no other. Instead of static metal, there are road and race cars performing hot laps in an adrenaline-laced atmosphere to the soundtrack of squealing tyres and high-performance motors.
This was the inaugural AMG Performance Tour held this week at the Kyalami GP circuit. And in amongst a flurry of new car launches and reveals from Mercedes-AMG, there was a special highlight for one lucky guest … this author.
AMG GT3 RIDEALONG
Rather than look at the cars on a revolving plinth, take some cell-phone footage and imagine the histrionics they’re capable of, Mercedes-AMG secured a bona fide GT3 race car for the AMG Performance Tour. Forming part of its customer racing program, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 has won countless major GT3 races in its eight years on the scene.
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The Spa, Nürburgring and Bathurst 24 hour, the Kyalami 9 Hour, you name it, the AMG GT3 has won it. This one in particular is prepared by Stradale Motorsport and runs in the South African GT Racing series by Charl Arrangies and Clint Weston. Today, however, there is a special driver. The pilot for this special experience is none other than Mercedes-Benz ambassador and five-time DTM champion, Bernd Schneider.
MERCEDES-BENZ SPECIALIST BERND SCHNEIDER
So, what’s one hot lap from the passenger seat around Kyalami’s glorious 4.26-km circuit like!? Well, after a lap of carefully warming up all the components – it was a chilly 10-degrees Celsius in Jo’Burg – one mighty impressive lap ensued on the gritty, slippery circuit.
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I could sense Schneider battling with cold tyres and oversteer in the slow turn 1-2-3 complex at the end of the main straight. But with the Goodyear slicks finally warmed and downforce courtesy of the GT3’s massive rear wing and underfloor aero, things started to click. There was mountainous grip onto the back straight, into Sunset and through the Essess, and any time deficit to an optimal lap was quickly made up.
STRAP IN. IT’S GOING TO BE A FAST RIDE
The tell-tale sign of this downforce was the sound of the chassis touching the ground repeatedly around the lap, just as it does when you watch the race car spark away during a proper GT3 race. What a thrill and a privilege! It was through the high-speed shoot down the Mineshaft where the car really bottomed out and felt like it took a huge chunk out of the Kyalami tarmac.
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As is so often the way with pure-bred racing machinery, it was the braking force that was to die for. If it weren’t for the full race harness keeping me pinned in place, I felt I could’ve gone straight through the AMG’s lightweight windshield. Through the famed Kyalami Essess, the AMG GT3 was incredibly dialled into the circuit. Light, grippy, manoeuvrable and with a seriously potent engine.
6.2-LITRE V8 ROAR
Getting back on the throttle and up to speed, the AMG GT3 simply obliterates the straights. The sound of the 6.2-litre AMG gattling-gun V8 with upwards of 450 kW (spec- and Balance of Performance dependent) is the stuff of dreams. Mercedes-AMG chose the big naturally aspirated engine for GT racing due to its relative lack of complexity and engaging drivability.
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So, if you’re lining up your next track-day toy for Kyalami or you’re an amateur racer who wants to take things to the next level, you could do a lot worse than the AMG GT3 customer racing car. A modern evolution will set you back the princely sum of €400 000 – around R8 million in a direct currency conversion. We feel incredibly privileged to have been the recipient of a passenger ride, and with a DTM champion no less.
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