2021 Mercedes-AMG GT R Black Series spied with GT3-inspired front end

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AMG’s next Black Series model to pick up elements from the new GT3 racer, including that grille.

Though it’s been quite some time since we’ve seen the Black Series name, it seems Affalterbach’s about to change this, turning its hand to the AMG GT for its most extreme iteration yet. A launch date is yet to be confirmed, but we expect to see the model in full at some stage in 2020.

Latest sightings show the model testing at both the Nürburgring and in northern Sweden this time, with different bodywork to the mules we’ve seen before. What appears to be a more production-ready front end complete with an entirely new bonnet and front bumper makes an appearance for the first time, alongside the two-step rear wing and aggressive diffuser already spied.

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At the front, the bonnet gains aggressive ribs seen on many other AMG products, alongside large intakes for cooling the engine beneath. The same AMG GT R GT3-derived front grille remains, as do the widened arches and large front splitter.

Follow the long front wings down the car’s flanks and you’ll spot the front wheelarch openings, first seen on the recent GT R Pro, reducing pressure and turbulence in the front arches.

And then there is the Black Series’ most dramatic feature – the double-layer rear wing that sits nearly as tall as the GT R’s roofline, and which will undoubtedly generate even more downforce on track than that of the Pro. Under the wing is a new diffuser, with four round exhaust pipes that replace the standard car’s triple exhaust set-up.

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Given that the AMG GT C and GT R models both already feature a wider body than the standard GT, this new Black Series will likely miss out on a bespoke bodyshell, but with all of these aero additions it shouldn’t be difficult to pick out the new GT R Black Series from its more demure stablemates.

This will be the first Black Series model to feature a turbocharged engine since the SL65 Black Series of 2008, and the first with AMG’s 4-litre hot-V V8 engine too. As a result, the GT R Black Series will include a considerable rise in power over the current GT R’s 430kW. The most recent Black Series model, the SLS, featured a 51kW increase over the 420kW SLS base car – a jump we’d suggest wouldn’t be out of the question for the GT R Black. If not more, considering the former was still running a naturally aspirated V8.

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Though entirely speculative at this stage, spy photographers have noted that the test mules for this model have been substantially quieter than lesser AMGs, perhaps pointing towards the use of a restrictive particulate filter for emissions, or even a quieter-by-nature flat-plane crank V8…

As with most Black Series models that have come before, this one will likely be the beginning of the end for GT production when it debuts later this year, with sales following in a limited production run. All of which should see the current AMG GT out till early 2022. The way the industry is currently headed, this could also be the last AMG Black Series model not to feature some form of electrified powertrain.

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