My trip however didn’t only include averaging ten thousand steps a day at the show, oh no. Mercedes-Benz had another treat in store which made my colleagues green with envy.
On the fourth day of my stay, I boarded a local flight to a town called Paderborn. Upon landing, I was handed the keys to a Mercedes-AMG GT Edition 50, but more on that a bit later. My destination was the Bilster Berg racetrack and AMG driving academy. Bilster Berg was designed by famed Formula One designer Hermann Tilke, and measures 4.27 km in length with a distinct Nürburgring feel.
The track has big elevation changes, blind corners, swooping curves and is surrounded by woodland very much like the iconic Nordschleife. With 19 corners and 44 dips and crests, it’s definitely exciting to drive. In the pit lane awaited six Mercedes-AMG GT R models finished in the now trademark Green Hell Magno paint.
I was about to sample one of the most talked about cars of 2017 at a track that looked as thrilling as it did dangerous. What makes the AMG GT R so special? Well, it features the same front-mid-engine concept with a transaxle layout as seen on the regular AMG GT and GT S. It does however get a more powerful engine.
Its 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 now develops 430kW/700Nm of torque, which means it takes around 3.6 seconds to hit 100km/h from zero. The GT R also gets extensively modified suspension, new aerodynamics and has lost some weight thanks to lightweight construction methods. All of these additions translate to one impressive track focused machine, something I was about to experience as we headed out of the pits led by none other than five times DTM champion, Bernd Schneider.
Our first few laps were warm up laps where we took it fairly easy to get better acquainted with the track. Once I was familiar with the layout, I unleashed the AMG GT R’s rage. Down the pit straight with an unholy sound from that monstrous V8, hard on the ceramic brakes, each down shift sounded like gun fire as it echoed through the forest.
Into a sharp inclined right hander and up the hill clipping the corners, left, right, hard on the brakes, turn it in and bleed into the throttle. Then, the 'mouse trap', a massive blind drop into a left hand incline. It is the closest I have ever been to the infamous Laguna Seca Corkscrew. From there, the track rises even higher than before with more blind crests, fast sweeps and tight turns with black rubber lines that go straight off, reminding me that this is no joke.
After five laps, I was buzzing, the car ticking away with the smell of hot rubber and brakes filling the air in the pit lane. I then decided to jump in with Bernd Schneider to see what the AMG GT R can really do. As one would have thought, he didn’t hold back. It is so difficult to describe the level of expertise at which he drives; the car was like putty in his hands, with me holding on for dear life as he negotiated each corner with pin-point accuracy.
After a full day at the track and a few more laps under my belt, I retried to the hotel where myself and the other South African media that accompanied me reminisced about our incredible time behind the wheel of a truly incredible car, the Mercedes-AMG GT R.
