Good points Valkyrie. I think Porsche will go to turbo engines on 992 to keep up. They knew this car was coming along with the others. They know they are on top now but if they don't make some changes othes will begin to take significant market share from them. I'm not that all interested in the Merc as I don't like the looks but I do think it will keep Porsche on their toes. And thats a good thing.

Whilst liking the flowing exterior from most angles and awesome powerplant of the AMG GT: To my eyes it's interior comes across as bloated and fussy, not a place I'd pay for to be in. Material use looks the part though.

The unfussy look and feel of a 991 cockpit, now that is a place I could live in. ;)

http://www.gtspirit.com/wp-content/u...des-AMG-GT.jpg

http://www.motoringresearch.com/wp-c...nterior-03.jpg

That thing in the center console- the world's first cigar aficionado size ash tray? Trash compactor? Air hockey table? (I notice the air hockey puck holder nearby is why I ask.)

Does make me wonder why they bother copying Porsche door handles while otherwise going all Buck Rogers.

Haha, lol!

Also: The center mouse shaped thing seems to be humping the puck below it. Design, fascinating isn't it. :D

This controller is from the S Class and they're cascading it through a lot of their models including the C Class. The rotary dial allows you to go through the menu, the "handle" on top has a few quick main controls so you don't have to through the dial for common selections.

I'm not a fan of the huge iPod screen, it's a distraction and is showing up everywhere except for Porsche, which again speaks to design language (ie where's the driver's focus- straight ahead- tach center).

That interior is just strange. Overlapping control sticks and an iPad wedged into the dash above 4 vents. I'm not sure why there are 4 vents in the centre? Did they just need to fill space under the iPad? I also can't figure out why the front of the headliner terminates in a giant hump at the windshield. It looks really odd to me and I'm wondering what that hump is hiding. It makes the windshield look very narrow from a horizontal perspective. Perhaps they want the drivers view of the world to be in a 16:9 perspective.

Luckily I've sworn completely off of MB cars due to past experiences so this would never be a temptation for me personally.

Mercedes makes the best looking sedans in the world right now, and their SUV's are competitive too (except that fugly square one). But their "sports cars" are the laughing stock of the design world right now IMO. Right up (down) there with the Nissan Cube, Fiat and the earlier Scions.

I'm also seeing a little Saturn Sky...

without the roof, of course

Agreed. As I said earlier, no matter how great the performance is, I just can't take Mercs seriously in the sports car arena. Otherwise, they are great.

I'm guessing that giant ashtray thing is a lid for the cupholders? I hope it slides forward into the console rather than lifting up on a hinge, because that would mean you could use the HVAC controls or the cupholders but not both at the same time.

I'd say this is easily the ugliest interior I've seen since Pontiac shuffled off its corporate coil.

Well I got to hand it to you, "cascading it through all their models" sounds a hell of a lot better than "the 'you know what' runs downhill."

The real advance will be when designers start eliminating things we really don't need, like shift levers and, yes, tachometers. Rev limiters make a tach redundant. Porsche doesn't even put one in the 991 Cup. Only thing you really need front and center on a street car anyway is something telling you when and how much to slow down to stay out of jail.

I don't care for the looks....

I'm a 911 fanboy. I admit it and I prefer my 911 over the Merc BUT that Merc is really nice. They will sell well. It's a different kind of car but most drivers do not track their car. As a fast DD that is built well I see no reason not to like it. Personally, I like the looks although not as much as a 911.

The MBs have always appealed to another type of crowd, just as Jags do.

Slick Video of AMG GT at COTA