From a distance this coupe looks to be a Porsche

or Jaguar. It is not. Obviously. The Mercedes-Benz

AMG GT S is, if you couldn't tell, a rapid

transit system built for two. Long of hood

and heritage design, it replaces the gull-winged

SLS that had less tech and cost some 70 grand

more. Making the GT S a bargain, I suppose.

If you have a spare $131,000 lying around you

can buy a base model GT S. As tested, this

one is $171,000. You're in that far might

as well finance the rest)

Those extras include fade free carbon

ceramic brakes, all kinds of carbon

fiber trim and structural bits, plus

an upgraded interior package that looks

for all the world to be from Lord Vader's

TIE fighter. I doubt he's a yellow guy though.

Skip the Solarbeam paint to save nearly 10 grand.

Mercedes is gunning for Porsche 911 and Audi

R8 though they have engines in back. This

4-liter 8-cylinder has two turbos nestled in

the V. Martin, who hand assembled it, would

explain the lack of a traditional oil pan allowed

engineers to drop the engine 2 inches for a

lower center of gravity. Isn't the sound of

503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque

lovely? It's variable. Drive modes

tailor performance, "race" being a bit

much for grocery getting. Engine mounts

are computer controlled for less vibration.

Using the shifter? It's a little bit of

a reach back, a bit awkward.

The rear-mounted 7-speed dual-clutch transmission

delivers this sturm und drang to the back

wheels. The driveshaft is carbon fiber.

Mercedes claims 0-60 sprints happen in

3.7 seconds

Seems like they're being conservative.

Oh, look how fast I'm going...

Only track time can reveal this cars lofty

performance, it cruises without drama at

double the speed limit. Don't ask me how

I know. Certainly I didn't test the top

speed claim of 193 miles an hour. GT S

does not use trendy electric power steering.

It's hydraulic and it's awesome.

One thing you'll notice right

away, the steering is incredible direct,

without being squirrelly.

The faster it goes, the more capable GT S

seems to become. Aerodynamics deploy

automatically at speeds over 75 miles an hour.

I think I'm going to keep that down.

I don't need to attract any more attention to myself...

Gas mileage? Well it's awful of course. But if

that's your concern this is clearly not your car.

You can probably tell from the level of

my voice, this is not as quiet as an S Class.

It's not as cushy of a ride either.

That should come as no surprise.

Even in comfort mode, I'm not sure I'd want

to travel long distance in this car.

You'd certainly arrive quickly though.

Remember, there are carbon ceramic brakes. Whoa. They will stop you all day long.

The cabin is snug for a couple, the panoramic

glass roof would brighten things up. Seats

are infinitely adjustable so there's no

issue there. A wonderful Burmester audio

system is standard, though the engine

sounds even better. Being a Mercedes, the

COMAND user interface is here, there's all

sorts of ways to enter data, including handwriting.

Not just an ultra high performance machine,

GT S is also a practical hatchback.

Kind of. Sort of.

Get the security shade out of the way and

there's room enough for just three packs

of the two-ply. Owners will probably

carry suitcases I'm guessing.

The folks at Mercedes say that AMG

is becoming more involved and important.

For one thing, the division draws a younger

and more affluent group. There are rumors

that it will have somewhat unique products,

not just performance variants. We know

AMG as a tuning division but these days

it is very involved with the products

as they are being conceived.

There's a higher velocity GT R model

on the way if this is not powerful enough.

For those who just love the way the aluminum

panels seem to be poured over the aluminum

space frame chassis, a standard GT will

start at $113,000. And I'll

assume it's hardly pokey. Considering its

looks and performance, the Mercedes-Benz

AMG GT S should fast become a classic.

One cool feature about the twin turbo

engine, the cylinder liners use a proprietary

material called Nanoslide. It makes them twice

as hard as standard cast-iron liners and

reduces friction. It's used in Mercedes

Formula 1 engines. GT S is also available

with those dynamic engine and transmission

mounts mentioned earlier. The front-to-rear

weight distribution is 47-53.

People ask me a lot of questions about

these reviews. No I don't keep all the

TP, as many of you know, Costco lets me

borrow it. But I will stress that Martin

Campbell and I put long hours and a lot

of money into making these look good.

I use five different kind of cameras.

We drove over 100 miles to get to this

location so the car was in its "natural habitat".

And then once we got there, patience was

required, as it often is. Sometimes its

very slow moving traffic that holds us up,

sometimes its just background stuff.

Sometimes it's wind. Also, on this shoot,

I had my first serious drone crash. A

huge gust of wind sent my Phantom 4 into

the power lines that I shouldn't have been

close to. It fell from this height onto

the pavement and survived (but didn't record

the fall for some reason). I quickly checked it

back at home found all was right. Surprisingly durable.

There ya go gang. That is my take on the

2016 Mercedes AMD GT S, a fast fine car

if you can afford it. I know I can't

because, I've quit my day job. Yes, I

have finally quit my job at KING TV in

Seattle and I'm doing the car thing

exclusively that means I have time, finally,

for Twitter and Facebook. So I will talk

to you all day long on Twitter and

Facebook, just look for Driven Car

Reviews, not Tom Voelk, Tom Voelk is

my personal page, trying to keep a

separation between church and state.

But I will talk to you on Driven Car Reviews.

All right?