Wide, low, mean: Mercedes-AMG GT3 race car previewed ahead of Geneva motor show debut

NEW MERCEDES RACER FOLLOWS SUCCESSFUL SLS AMG GT3

    There’s a track-ready Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the way, and though we won’t know any of the technical details until its official debut at the Geneva motor show, we do have the above photo for proof.

  Besides its commanding wideness, there’s at least one intriguing detail visible in the characteristically murky preview pic:

    Naturally, this car lacks the inline-six of its ancestor. Instead, it gets, we presume, some variation of the 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 found in the 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT upon which it based. Also gone, we’re guessing, are the famous gullwing doors, which were replaced by conventional portals on the roadgoing AMG GT.

   This car’s direct predecessor, the brawny SLS AMG GT3, was a relatively successful -- if somewhat unlikely -- road-racing contender; among other victories, an SLS AMG GT3 took the checkered flag in 2013’s 24 Hours of Spa. After our first drive of the AMG GT, we’d venture that it’ll serve as an even more competent platform upon which to build a competitive racer.

   The AMG GT3 will be offered to U.S. customers through AMG Customer Sports, but don’t think you’ll be able to register this thing for grocery store duty; like the McLaren P1 GTR, we suspect this is a track-only deal. And if you don’t like this or the McLaren, well, there’s always the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. It’s a good time to be in the market for GT3 cars, is what we’re getting at.