Free Reads
Back to Library >
Mercedes-AMG GT43 review
11 months ago
When press launches go wrong
A hell of a lot goes into and hangs on new car launches. After spending millions, even billions on R&D, with marketing strategies carefully organised and production...
The master of Molsheim
There is a small, thin air vent running across the top of each door of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport and, frankly, it’s rather disappointing. This is an otherwise exquisitely...
Aston Martin DBX707 v Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT
One of these two cars is probably the best high-performance SUV on sale. Dan Prosser decides which – and explains why it just doesn't matter
Another one bites the dust
I was on my way to drive a modified Mini Cooper S when the call came. It didn’t matter how close I was to the tuning company’s workshop, said the voice. I had to turn around...
Halving the number of cylinders also removes around 150kg of weight
And forget it we should try to do because at a smidge over £100,000, it’s over £40,000 cheaper than the most affordable V8 GT, the GT55. This means the GT43 does without its front drive shafts, rear wheel steering, active dampers and torque vectoring rear differential. It also means it does without quite a lot of mass, about 150kg of the stuff in fact, though at a whiff under 1900kg, it’s still hardly light. A base Porsche 911 Carrera which costs about the same is a simply staggering 379kg lighter… And has six cylinders.
But a no less interesting equation shows us that this 416bhp GT43 loses barely anything relative to the V8 GT in terms of power to weight: it’s a mere 11bhp per tonne of mass, which really isn’t that much at all, and the fact the V8 can hit 62mph in 3.9sec rather than 4.6sec says very little about relative real-world performance and a whole lot more about four-wheel drive traction off the line.
If you’re used to it, you will miss the rumble; if not you’ll find the four cylinder motor an amiable enough companion, with outstanding throttle response for an engine with such a high specific output and more than capable enough of bowling the GT43 along as fast as anyone would or, at least, should want to go on the public highway. It works well with the nine speed gearbox too.
"It gives the GT43 a litheness, an edge that some drivers might even value more highly than a V8 motor"
Join The Intercooler's thriving community today and get access to:
Award-winning magazine
Ad-free on website and app
Subscriber-only podcasts
Listen without ads
Audio articles
Listen on the go
Full Library access
1500+ stories, 2m+ words
But its real appeal lies not so much in the fact that it’s lighter, but from where that weight has been taken, the huge, steaming majority of which has come from under the bonnet. It gives the GT43 a litheness, an edge that some drivers might even value more highly than a V8 motor. And all that stuff that’s been removed, like the four-wheel drive, trick dampers and rear steer? To be honest I don’t think I missed any of it very much, if at all.
Even so, though this car a highly capable tourer with credible sporting pretensions, I cannot put my hand on my heart and say it’s actually better for trading half its capacity and cylinders. It’s not. It’s just cheaper. Of course the car I’d really like to try is one with the pared back chassis spec of the 43 with the motor from the 55 priced somewhere between the two. That, I suspect, might be quite something. Sadly, however, it doesn’t exist.
Mercedes-AMG GT43
Engine:
1991cc, 4 cyls, turbocharged
Transmission:
9-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power:
419bhp @ 6750rpm
Torque:
368lb ft @ 5000rpm
Weight:
1899kg
Power-to-weight:
221bhp/tonne
0-62mph:
4.6sec
Top speed:
174mph
Price:
£105,435
JBR Capital is proud to support The Intercooler and its community of car enthusiasts. As a specialist provider of high-end vehicle finance, JBR works with drivers, collectors and enthusiasts across the UK.
JBRcapital.com
Join The Intercooler's thriving community today and get access to:
Award-winning magazine
Ad-free on website and app
Subscriber-only podcasts
Listen without ads
Audio articles
Listen on the go
Full Library access
1500+ stories, 2m+ words
