Get ready for more versions of the AMG GT supercar

Last week, TG was part of an exclusive audience with the new Mercedes-AMG GT R. It was a good chance to speak to the man who’s aided its creation, AMG chief Tobias Moers.

Among his revelations? That its Nürburgring lap time will be “minimum ten seconds” quicker than the standard AMG GT, which itself is around the 7:30 mark.

Will AMG go publicly chasing rivals, like ‘Ring regulars the Porsche 911 and Nissan GT-R? “No, we don’t do that,” Moers tells us. “I think it’s sometimes a little bit ridiculous what people try to achieve with the lap times.”

He also confirmed that production numbers of the GT R won’t be limited. “We do have a certain capacity, though,” he told us. “It’s not the one and only in the family for this year. Another companion is coming.”

That companion is a convertible, the AMG GT Roadster. Moers confirmed it “has left the drawing board” and will be with us by a next year, with an appearance likely this year. Our guess is a debut at either the Paris or LA motor show.

“It’s a convertible still in line with the GT,” Moers said, “it’s a very sporty roadster. The torsional stiffness of a GT is outstanding. The body in white is stiff so we can use the suspension out of the GT and GT S as standard.”

That suggests two things: not too much of a weight gain over the (admittedly a little stocky) GT coupes, and also that we can expect both 456bhp GT and 503bhp GT S powerplants in the open-top version.

It will be followed by an AMG GT4, a more customer-orientated version of the GT3 racer which took the top four positions at the Nürburgring 24 Hours back in May.

“With the GT3 at Nürburgring or Spa, you’re not going to win without factory support,” Moers told us. “For many gentleman drivers it’s maybe a little bit too expensive. So we see the room for the GT4.” Testing begins in autumn, with the car racing by spring 2017.

Given standard, GT R, Roadster, GT3 and GT4 versions have all landed within a couple of years of the GT’s arrival, we asked Moers if the sports car’s remit is much bigger than its effective predecessor, the more supercar-like SLS AMG.

“Yeah, absolutely. Nothing happens as an accident, everything is done in a strategic way. There was always going to be a broad portfolio compared to the SLS, because the entrance level of GT is much lower, so there’s more room. And you know how that segment works, it’s all about a lot of variants.”

He remained more tight-lipped about whether that means we’ll see an AMG GT Black Series, when we put it to him that the new AMG GT R is down on power compared to that old beast.

“It’s much faster than an SLS Black on the race track,” he assured us. “And it’s not all about power, it’s about drivability, it’s about weight to power ratio.”

Still, the Black Series badge is legendary (just ask Lewis Hamilton). We’ll be surprised if one of those numerous AMG GT variants doesn’t get big arches, a loopy wing and an antisocial amount of power…