There’s plenty of activity at the very top of the automobile hierarchy, where the vehicles aimed at the one percenters are constantly vying to one-up each other, even being content at chasing the perception of that advantage.
At the lower end of that upper echelon of high end motoring, the AMG GT does battle with the likes of the Audi R8, Jaguar F-Type, Aston Martin Vantage, and the Porsche 911. Affalterbach has supplied their infantry with an updated technology suite, leaving much else to do with that car alone. Most notably, the AMG GT for 2019 will arrive with a fully digital instrument cluster that measures 12.3 inches as well as an updated 10.2 inch central infotainment screen with new interface elements to boot.
Outside, the base level AMG GT and mid-range GTC takes yet more cues from its newer four-door sibling, but only in very minor terms. Specifically, the LED headlights now feature an illuminator array that mirrors this newer design and there’s a slightly reshaped rear bumper and diffuser.
That’s all well and good and should help the car maintain its healthy sales numbers, but it isn’t the main story here. This is because AMG also unveiled a their new top dog road car, sitting above the GT R that was brought to market in late 2016.
To distinguish itself from the R, the R Pro - as it’s called - features even more motorsport-derived technology to bring it closer to the full GT3 and GT4-spec racers based on the AMG GT. The already very capable coil-over suspension has been made mechanically adjustable via a dial on the damper itself for quick fine tuning of compression, rebound, and spring preload length.
In order to add further stiffness to the chassis while adding as little weight as possible, AMG has equipped the GT R Pro with a carbon fibre torsion beam at the front axle and works in tandem with revised engine and transmission mounts to ensure as much of the car’s mass moves as one unit.
There’s also the matter of aerodynamics and here the GT R Pro does turn it up a notch higher than the R with a more pronounced front splitter, louvres above the front wheels to relieve wheel well pressure and less front end lift, and a new fixed aluminium rear spoiler.
AMG themselves have never really subscribed to the sacrifice of creature comforts in the pursuit of performance, and so the GT R Pro retains many of the plush materials and premium finishings as the rest of the range. Should the buyer choose, however, they will sell you the Track Package which adds an FIA spec steel roll cage, a fire extinguisher, and four-point safety harnesses.
No powertrain alterations were detailed at the Los Angeles Motor Show debut event, so it’s safe to assume those attributes remain identical to the GT R, amounting to a 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 pushing out 430kW and 700Nm to the rear wheels via a 7-speed Speedshift dual-clutch transmission.
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