AMG GT Black Series is the Ring’s fastest production car

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Internet, be honest about the fastest production car ever at the Nürburgring. At 5 p.m. on November 4, German racing driver Maro Engel set a time of 6m 43.616s in the new Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, beating the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ by just over a second and the Porsche 911 GT2 RS of about four seconds.

Mercedes tells us that for the record attempt, which took place in cold weather on a “not yet completely dry” track, it made full use of the Black Series adjustable suspension and aero. He extended the Black’s front splitter to the “ Race ” position and adjusted the lower and upper rear wing blades to their middle position.

Meanwhile, he set the adjustable anti-roll bars to their stiffest setting, consisting of -3.8 and -3 degrees of camber on the front and rear axles respectively, and dropped the adjustable coil spring suspension from 5 mm and 3 mm front / rear to “improve the venturi.” front diffuser effect ”. He says that “customers can take advantage of all these settings and variations as well.” If said customers are at hand with a set of keys, of course.

Engel set the nine-stage traction control system to position six or seven “depending on the track section”. And for the lap, the Black wore standard Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R MO tires.

These days, attempts to set a record time in the ring are governed by a strict set of rules to keep everyone on an equal footing. Vehicles and tires are inspected “for their mass production condition”, sophisticated timing equipment must be used, and an independent notary must be present to verify manufacturers’ behavior.

The vehicles are classified into categories as defined by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority – the Black is a “sports car” – and twice registered. The one quoted on the ‘Ring’s website is for the entire 20.832 km circuit. However, manufacturers tend to quote times for the 20.6 km circuit, which Mercedes says “has been the measure of all things” for years. The shorter lap has different start and finish lines, so if you think about it, it’s not really a lap at all.

It’s time for the 20.6 km course we mentioned at the start of this article. The Black’s time for the 20.832 km circuit is 6m 48.047s. Another record for the fastest “production car” ever raced on the Nürburgring.

But the Black is not the fastest “road-approved sports car” to go around the “Ring”. This honor goes to a Porsche 911 GT2 RS modified by Manthey Racing, which achieved a time of 6m 40.3s in early 2018 (6m 44.749s for the 20.832 km circuit).