The 2022 Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series Is a $400,000 Weekend Warrior

Built to be as exclusive as it is Herculean, the Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series—based off of the Mercedes-AMG GT—is only limited to just 55 units, but it's billed as the most "powerful customer sports car" ever built by AMG. It does come with an additional catch: you're not allowed to drive it on the road, as it's built to the standards of GT3 and GT4 race cars, including the roll cage, lack of an AM/FM/Satellite radio, and no air conditioning. At least not the type of air conditioning you're used to in your 2022 Mercedes-AMG GT road car.

Why Only 55 Units?

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The limitation of 55 cars is no coincidence. It's a number that celebrates the founding of Mercedes-AMG in 1967, 55 years ago. You'll find that number on the embossed plaque on the center console. It also symbolizes the fact that each GT Track Series car and its engine are hand built at the Affalterbach, Germany facility, making each one unique, to a certain extent.

It's a Race Car, First and Foremost

While it's being billed as a hyper-exclusive car, the Mercedes-AMG GT is a race car built to FIA GT standards. As such, the driver's compartment is designed as a safety cell, with an integrated headrest, driver extraction hatch in the roof, and a full fire extinguishing system. Surrounding the safety cell is a full FIA specification roll cage to protect the sole occupant from getting injured in most crashes. If a lucky purchaser wanted to race their GT Track Series car, it would only need some slight additions to make it legal for the FIA GT3 or GT4 series or equivalent in their local area.

The Most Powerful AMG?

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Now, being billed as the "most powerful AMG customer car ever built" would mean it would have to beat out the 2014 AMG SLS E-Cell at 740 hp, 738 lb-ft of torque from four electric motors. Again, we're talking about cars that have been produced and we're not counting the still in development AMG ONE. Yet.

With that 740 hp in mind, the GT Track Series bests the CLK GTR by 38 hp, but doesn't quite beat the torque number. That's right, the 4.0 liter twin-turbo V-8 pumps out 778 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque, missing the torquiest AMG by about 111 lb-ft, due to the nature of electric cars and their torque-friendly power delivery.

For now, the GT Track Series is the most powerful customer car built by AMG by horsepower while the SLS E-Cell remains the torquiest. The GT Track Series V-8 sends its power through a prop shaft to the Hewland-built six-speed transaxle made for AMG competition cars with a magnesium case and adjustable self-locking differential. Shifting is done through a pneumatic system with a pair of shift paddles located behind the steering wheel.

Hey, That's A Yoke!

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Yes, we know the comparison between the Tesla Model S Plaid Yoke and the AMG GT Track Series wheel are going to be made, but get this: the GT Track Series is made to be used with a butterfly wheel. It doesn't require 2.5 turns to steer lock-to-lock, like Tesla's did initially. Its electro-mechanical power steering system is made properly and not as a gimmick like it is on the Model S Plaid. It was also designed by Cube Controls and mimics many of their sim racing steering wheels.

That being said, a lot of the controls are located on the steering wheel just as they are on the S Plaid. FIA GT rules require functioning lights, including turn signals, high beams and a flash to pass. Other functions that are similar to road cars include paging the Bosch Driver Display Unit (DDU) 11 dashboard screens, starting the engine, turning the wipers on and off, windshield squirter, and a Push-To-Talk (think of it like pushing the button to go handsfree calling).

It also gives the driver a way to limit the speed of the car while driving down pit lane, shifting the transaxle into neutral, and turning on a pump to give the driver a drink. The dashboard isn't quite like yours, though, as it's designed to give the driver engine RPM, shift points, and lap and split times along with vital engine information and an empty tank estimate. No GPS, no radio information, not even an odometer.

Center Console

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Over on the center console, you won't even find a radio. There is a buckle there for the right-hand side net for additional protection during a crash and a single vent to help cool the driver off, with a fan control located just below it. To the far right is a brake bias adjuster that changes how much pressure the brake pedal sends to each master cylinder, as there is a little balance bar between them with its central pivot at the brake pedal. Usually, anyway.

The fuel reset is for that empty estimate mentioned in the dashboard description. The MAP button is there for fuel mapping of the engine, not for any GPS but the driver can dim or brighten the dash or even turn on the cockpit light. The "rainlight" button, we believe, is for the flashing red light the FIA mandates to be on during rains so drivers behind you know where you are in the rooster tail of water that flies up from the car.

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Moving down where the center console controls were on the GT road car, there are controls on how much ABS and traction control are activated along with an ABS reset switch. To their right is the control to adjust the outside mirrors, because getting a manual mirror adjusted perfectly is a pain to do, even in a race car. The next three below that are the ignition switch, the main reset switch for the electronics in the car, and how you tell the transaxle to go in reverse. The final two buttons are relatively self explanatory as they are the fuel pump switch and the fire suppression switch. In addition to that cockpit fire suppression switch is one located outside the car for track workers to hit. The two round head levers between the seat and console are anti-roll bar adjusters for the front and rear.

The Chassis

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Like most race cars, the GT Track Series allows the crew chief—or owner—to adjust the chassis to maximize performance and in keeping the driver feeling like they are in full control. Car steps out or pushes too much in a corner and the driver isn't going to push. This means that the lightweight forged aluminum 18x12 inch front and 18x13 inch rear AMG wheels are controlled through a set of rebound and compression adjustable dampers. This keeps the 13/26-18 front and 13/28-18 rear tires in constant contact with the ground. Bare in mind, race tires are measured by their width and circumference, not their width and sidewall height as a percentage. Our numbers are also a conversion from metric, rounding to their nearest whole number.

Interestingly, AMG elected to not go with a single lug nut setup for the wheels and it instead has five lugs. Not a huge issue for track days or sprint races, but if the owner decides to do some endurance racing, they may want to hire some old NASCAR tire changers. Regardless of that, the 3,086 pound GT Track Series gets to a stop using a set of six piston front, four piston rear brake calipers that clamp down on 15.4 inch front and 14 inch rear rotors.

It's A Race Car, It's Going To Take Damage If It's Used Properly

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Fortunately, for those owners who want to track their AMG GT Track Series, AMG is offering its full support and service that Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customers get. This includes technical training before delivery, individual engineer support during track days or club sport activities when you request it, a service hotline during race weekends, and logistical support for spare parts supply.

It's A Race Car, It's Also Going To Be Expensive

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How much is the cost of privilege in owning the Mercedes-AMG GT Track Series? For everything except for a spare parts starter set, seat and helmet ventilation system, a drinking system and passenger safety cell will set you back $406,062.36. Worldwide sales are being handled directly by Mercedes-AMG from Affalterbach, Germany, the global headquarters of the high-performance arm of Mercedes-Benz. They expect the sale of this ultimate AMG customer car to begin on the second quarter of 2022. However, if you want to secure one of the 55 being made, you might want to order now as we're sure they won't last long.