The night before this test I didn't sleep much, I confess that I was anxious about what was ahead. And I was far from knowing that instead of the usual 3/4 laps in the circuit, I would have the opportunity to do more than 10 laps in depth. But the suspicion that this one had the potential to be the fastest at the Nürburgring had been around for a few months.
If you make a mental "throwback" to all the moments I've lived in the last 8 years of Ledger Automobile, this was undoubtedly one of the most memorable.
Not only for everything that is obvious (the car, track experience, etc…) but because it was a trip in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, with immense restrictions. One of the few business trips I've taken this year, a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of a “normal year”.
I was packing my suitcase to return (and still trying to mentally absorb everything that had happened on the track), when the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo entered Germany's blacklist as a risk zone. A few hours later, all the tests we had scheduled to do in Germany by the end of the year were cancelled.
orange demon
The target of extensive modifications in terms of the engine and aerodynamics compared to the Mercedes-AMG GTR (which curiously it had also tested about a year ago), it hinted at a true circuit-eating machine with authorization to circulate on public roads.
In the briefing I received from Bernd Schneider, already sitting behind the wheel (you can see an excerpt of that moment in our video), the four-time DTM champion told me he could do whatever he wanted with regard to traction control and stability control , as long as I didn't exceed my limits and didn't overtake the identical car he was driving in front of me (yes Bernd, I'll pass you on the right…in my dreams!).
The last time I had been at the Lausitzring I also had to (try…) chase another driver in the same way: “our” Tiago Monteiro, who followed like me at the wheel of the latest generation Honda Civic Type R.
In short: a test without restrictions, at the wheel of a supercar with 730 hp fully delivered to the rear wheels and being taught by one of the legends of motorsport.
I won't elaborate on the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series. I've already said everything I had to say in almost 20 minutes of film, masterfully edited by Filipe Abreu.
Subscribe to our newsletter
The “Black Series” have never been known for their track records (let alone their ease of taming), but more for the brutality of power delivery to the rear wheels, and a price to pay to match that brutality.
But in this Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series the Stuttgart brand saw it had the potential to project the Black Series series to a different level.
A record in adverse conditions. Is it possible to do even better?
Last night came the confirmation of what we had already expected: this is the fastest production model on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife already in compliance with the new record-setting rules.
It beat the record of the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, in adverse weather conditions: 7 °C outside temperature and with wet parts of the track as you can see in the video published by Mercedes-AMG.
After a small but complete, workshop on the circuit about engine and aerodynamics, I questioned one of the Mercedes-AMG engineers about the potential for us to be facing the fastest production car on the Nürburgring. The answer was, with a big smile on his face: "I can't comment."
At the wheel of this record-setting demon followed Maro Engel, the Mercedes-AMG driver who, at the height of his 35 years, showed how brilliantly and in such complex conditions, it is possible to challenge all limits. A fully verified record , with standard specifications, including tyres, with the car as it is delivered to the customer when it leaves the factory.
Lower your arms? We humans don't do that.
One more barrier has been broken in this great journey, which is the evolution of the automobile. It's not new. This search to overcome our limits, the fact of not resigning ourselves, is something that is inscribed in our existence.
Mercedes-AMG showed that even in a world going through one of the greatest challenges in our history, it has not failed to overcome itself and stamped one of its models as the fastest on the Nürburgring.
It is because of this spirit of resilience, transversal to the entire automobile industry and, of course, to all of us human beings, that we resist. Even when moving forward seems more and more difficult.
Let the next ones come! It shouldn't take long for a new record to emerge. We'll be at the front there, if allowed, of course.