Sharm

Enjoy:

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...omparison-test

chuck911

They somehow managed to find photo's that make both the exterior and interior of the AMG look even more butt ugly than ever. No one should ever have to endure a direct side view of that turd. Taking one for the team: you have been warned! Pretend its Maxim and just read the print.

K-A

Two wannabe's and the OG. Outcome makes perfect sense.

I really can't stand that AMG. M-B is in such a try-hard identity crisis, shamelessly trying to imitate the 911 (and even Jaguar), I just see right through them. Not really impressed. The Jag I do think puts its own spin on things and is interesting, retaining a proper British/Jag feel about it.

NoGaBiker

I'm hoping the AMG GT-S v.2 will include a direct rip-off of the 911 front clip also. The world will be a prettier place. Porsche should donate their design patent or copyright to MB as an act of public service.

chuckbdc

I saw and sat in one yesterday. I think it looks way better in person than in pictures. But it is massive- 5 inches wider and longer than a 991. They parked it next to a Maybach to disguise its bulk.

But when (and if) you get past the exterior, it gets truly strange. The cockpit manages to be too wide and too cramped at the same time. You look out over the acre of hood through a slit of a windshield past A-pillars so thick that the initial thought is that this car is not really made for driving. Then, there is an amazing lack of room behind the seats. If you ever thought the console in a 991 was too much, the Merc's will cure you. It manages to intrude in every direction, places some controls so far back it would be dangerous to fish for them when in motion, and contains enough push button chrome bling in every shape imaginable to embarrass a 50s era Caddy. It makes a Panamera interior seem bland. I did not get a chance to start it up, but I would fully expect to find multi-colored neon lighting changing colors to a disco beat.

The rear is so out of the 991 playbook that I used to think that if Porsche had wanted to build a mid-front engine V8, it would look like the Merc. It is priced right and it is obviously the anti-Porsche at its price point. But I cannot imagine Porsche ever making such a bling centered rather than driver centered machine, or anyone who drives Porsches being tempted.

Larry Cable

interesting that the article noted and complained about the PDK programming, its the 1st thing I noticed about my new GTS Cabriolet, the damn PDK (even in SPORT mode) upshifts to 7th gear very aggressively which is great for fuel economy but I dont think it has *any* place in a sports car like the 911 ... fortunately you can override it with the paddles temporarily (while in auto) or plop it into manual and change cogs yourself, which you should do on track in SPORT+

Archimedes

I agree. I think that new Merc is just awful to look at. I can't believe how some reviewers gush of it and some of the other ugly Mercs. Most Mercedes sports model look to me like someone started with a mediocre, unbalanced, slightly over the top design and then slapped a cheap body kit on it.

Archimedes

Is this unique to the Carrera? I actually notice in my Cayman S that, in sport mode, the car really does not want to go into 7th gear until you are really cruising on the highway at a steady high speed for a while. Sometimes when I'm in sport auto in 6th on the freeway and it stays in 6th for a lonnng time, that whine is like the car saying to me 'really, are you sure you want me to shift into 7th? You're totally sure? No talking you out of this?...'

NoGaBiker

Larry, I'm at 3.5 weeks, 950 miles and haven't felt the need to drive a mile in Auto yet. Keep waiting for the new to wear off and just say, Ah, Screw it, I'll use Auto. But so far, no desire whatsoever. And all driving so far has been in Sport Plus, shocks off (unless I'm in the mountains hooning, in which case Shocks are on. Or if I'm on interstate, in which case I'll switch to Sport so I can get 7th gear.)

Anyway, I'm warming to this PDK-thingy after thinking I had made a mistake the first 10 days or so. Maybe I just better never put it in Auto so I don't become disillusioned!

Vise

That is interesting... I drive most of the time in Sport (or Sport Plus when driving aggressively) and do not notice the same behaviour when in Auto. I had actually asked a couple weeks back if the car goes into 7th at all when in Sport mode... similar to the observation by Archimedes. It has only happened a couple times when cruising steady on the highway.

Wonder if it is a function of being brand new or what... assume there is some sort of learning mode to these things. Either way it is a non-issue as I'm in paddle/manual shift every time as soon as the engine is reasonably warm.

Bacura

In sport mode(auto) my PDK won't go into 7th unless I manually upshift. Odd that yours does.

Larry Cable

Sport+ is definitely the setting that causes the PDK to behave most like a manual transmission, and I agree if you pop it in manual then barring kickdown everything is peachy ...

I tried PASM Sport mode, the car just bounced around ... I'm pretty certain I will never use that setting again... its reminiscent of the PASM in the 7.1 GT3
its sport mode was useless also eso on track

Well I did over 1000km of mixed driving in either Sport or Sport+ and the car constantly short shifted up into 7th every time I left it alone, all you need is some constant rpm/accelerator pedal input ... maybe it will 'learn' eventually

SPORT+ eliminate 7th gear (at least on the GTS)

K-A

Mercedes is advertising so much right now (desperate), that I'm sure they're allocating budgets to get these magazines "excited" about their designs.

But reading between the lines, look at the exterior scoring that C&D did. They gave the AMG GT the last place styling score out of the 3 ("only" an 8/10). So it seems in their most honest opinion, it's not quite up to snuff. Imagine what they'd say in 5+ years when that "wow/new" typical to modern M-B gimmicky design popping smoke wears off, thus turns against the car to quickly date it (which is how it goes, and another issue with modern M-B idioms).

Someone on another forum said it looks like a "hotdog on wheels". Made me LMAO. Especially in that color. The proportions and ridiculously long hood are comically phallic. And you can just see how that excess is not only pointless, but regressive to function, and would make the car feel more unwieldy than a 911. M-B try to imitate in the most lowbrow ways, but they still don't "get it". Porsche is about function and timelessness first, focus, precision, not gimmicks. Copy all they want, but they clearly don't understand the secret sauce.

Vise

I said in another thread it remains me of this...



In photos it is passable but in person the insane length of the hood (particularly from the drivers seat) is actually quite ridiculous. Sitting down low in that tight cockpit with that huge hood out front... could not be more different from the experience of driving a 911. Understatement.

K-A

LOL! I thought of that too.

Totally. Granted I haven't driven one, but have sat in one. The cockpit feel is all wrong in relation to a 911. The shorter and low nose of the 911 not only offer great slghtlines, but you know where the nose is. All of that excess hood of the GT S, along with its cave like greenhouse, low to the ground, with a giant mirror covering up a nice portion of the small windshield, it just doesn't feel right. It gives it an inherently "leaned back" and clumsy element of which the engineering now has to compensate for. It's not as track purpose designed as the 911, not even close.