Mercedes AMG: a schoolboy’s dream come true

published 17 February 2017

Mercedes knows that inside the head of every banker or chartered accountant is a teenager trying to get out, says Nick Rufford in The Sunday Times. That's why the AMG GT R looks as though it belongs on a poster on an adolescent's bedroom wall.

The rear aerofoil is as big as a dining table. The engine is engineered to be deliberately loud, even though this reduces efficiency. The stickiness of the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres increases fuel consumption and you'll never test their limits on a slog round the M25, but they're the choice of racing drivers and it's just good to know they're there. But it's not all for show: the car is "dazzlingly, brilliantly fast on straights and through corners" and nimble too you wouldn't guess that it tips the scales at more than one and a half tons.

It is Mercedes-AMG's "most convincing and exciting sports car yet", says Kyle Fortune in AutoExpress. The engine sounds epic, "firing with the sort of evocative grumble and roar of the best V8s", and driving the rear wheels to a top speed of 198mph. And that engine can be pushed hard with confidence: there's a greater sense of connection and a more compliant ride than in its predecessors, and the grip is "huge", with predictable limits. This is an enormously "entertaining, engaging and exciting car" and the best GT yet.

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Stuart graduated from the University of Leeds with an honours degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and from Bath Spa University College with a postgraduate diploma in creative writing.

He started his career in journalism working on newspapers and magazines for the medical profession before joining MoneyWeek shortly after its first issue appeared in November 2000. He has worked for the magazine ever since, and is now the comment editor.

He has long had an interest in political economy and philosophy and writes occasional think pieces on this theme for the magazine, as well as a weekly round up of the best blogs in finance.

His work has appeared in The Lancet and The Idler and in numerous other small-press and online publications.