Looking for something to leave the Porsches and Ferraris in your dust at your next track day? Mercedes-AMG has you covered with this, the GT3 Edition 130Y Motorsport.
While based on the highly successful GT3 racing car, more specifically this version is the same specification as the special car the German brand brought to Mt Panorama earlier this year to establish a new lap record for closed cars. Jules Gounon lapped the Bathurst circuit in just 1:56.605secs to establish a new benchmark, but did so thanks to some unique features (and was beaten by Ford’s unique SuperVan 4.2 a week later).
Without the need to go racing, Mercedes-AMG’s engineers were able to make the GT3 Edition 130YT Motorsport even faster. For starters, the engine no longer runs air restrictors and has a unique exhaust to make 500kW. And with all the extra grunt, they swamped the racing-mandated steel brake discs for carbon versions.
Next up, the engineers played with the aerodynamics, increasing downforce by 15 per cent, while also adding a wider rear wing, which is fitted with Formula 1-style DRS (drag reduction system).
The name, 130Y, is a nod to the 130 year anniversary of the first competition for a car wearing Mercedes’ now-iconic three-pointed star badge. That was in the Paris to Rouen race on July 22 1894. While in another nod to history the silver and blue paint scheme of the launch car is a nod to the Carrera Panamericana winning cars driven by Hans Klenk and Karl Kling.
The bad news is, Mercedes-AMG will only build 13 examples of this remarkable track-only car, and if you haven’t already discussed it with your local Mercedes dealer you’re probably not making the list.
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