In the lead up to the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour Race Mercedes has taken the old production car record for the world famous Mount Panorama circuit and ripped almost 8 seconds off of the old time. Mercedes-AMG factory driver Bernd Schneider piloted the AMG GT R around the 6.2km circuit with the record time of 2 minutes 16.5 seconds, a sizable improvement over the old 2 minutes 24.3 seconds.
To put that into perspective, back in 1991 the Group A Nissan Skyline GT-R driven by Mark Skaife set the lap record of 2 minutes 14.5 seconds, and now a completely stock factory car is a mere 2 seconds off that pace.
Following the blisteringly hot lap Schneider stated “I love the GT R. I knew it would be a fast car, but it really feels at home here at Mount Panorama,“.
The Mercedes-AMG GT R is the new flagship of the AMG GT range. Sending power to the rear wheels is the familiar twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine used on standard AMG GT models, but uprated in the GT R to serve up 430kW and 700Nm of torque. Matched with a seven-speed dual clutch transmission, the AMG GT R launches from zero to 100km/h in conservative prediction of 3.5 seconds, 0.3 of a second faster than the GT S. Top speed is said to be 318km/h, 8km/h more than the standard car.
Not content with breaking just the one record, Mercedes sent out AMG factory driver Maro Engel to put down some hot laps in a Mercedes-AMG C63 S which resulted in a time of 2 minutes 29.7 seconds, allegedly the fastest time set for a standard production sedan around the mountain.
“The AMG C 63 S is so comfortable and easy to drive on the road, once you hit the racetrack it’s like it sees red and turns into a monster,” said Engel.
The two safety cars for the 12 hour endurance event this year will be a pair of C63 S’s but expect the pace to be toned down compared to Friday’s outing.
