Famed German tuners AMG are well known for turning already potent Mercedes-Benz into four-wheeled monsters of performance. From the very first AMG to go racing, to the latest bespoke hyper car, the engineers from Affalterbach have a real need for speed.
Here are the top 10 greatest AMGs ever made.
Mercedes-Benz G 65 AMG
Let’s open the batting with something that highlights that AMG will happily make anything go considerably faster than intended. The much loved G-wagon started life as a very utilitarian military vehicle, but these days resides as a bold fashion statement with some serious off-roading capabilities. AMG engineers took one look at it and immediately started drawing up plans for a V12 version.
The latest ‘go-faster’ G-wagon is a bit more ‘sensible’ with a V8 under the bonnet, but the previous generation G65 featured a flagship V12. Kicking out 621bhp and 999Nm of torque, this tank in its final guise cost some £278,000. Despite its size and weight, the 4×4 could rocket from 0-62mph in just over 5 seconds.
Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG Back Series
If you think regular AMG engineers are a bit mad, there’s a deeper basement at its HQ where truly bonkers designers reside. These mad scientists are responsible for Black Series cars, the most aggressively modified Mercedes sold with a warranty. The Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG Black Series was the very first.
Largely forgotten due to the headline grabbing Black Series cars that followed, the SLK Black Series was the first of its kind. Lightened with carbon fibre, widened and packing a 400bhp V8 punch, the little sports car was quite the pocket monster.
Mercedes-AMG GT
Only the second bespoke car to come from the AMG division, the AMG GT is not only handsome, but also blisteringly fast. Its ‘hot V’ V8 engine with turbochargers nestled within the cylinder banks was an innovation direct from F1. Proving that a turbocharged engine could sound incredible, this car’s performance matched the devilish good looks.
Many performance variants of the AMG GT have been produced over the years, but the swan song for this model is the menacing 720bhp Black Series.
Mercedes-Benz 300 E AMG ‘Hammer’
Before AMG was absorbed by Mercedes-Benz, it was free to go bananas and continue building cars that earned serious headlines. A car nicknamed ‘The Hammer’ sure did that, as this heavily modified E-Class from 1986 epitomised the era of excess.
Sporting a menacing black on black look, the swollen super saloon had the muscle to back up its intimidating visage. Possessing a 6.0-litre V8 engine capable of producing nearly 400bhp made it arguably the fastest four-door car of its time.
Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series
When the Black Series team turned the C63 AMG to the dark side, it was applauded for making the equivalent of a German muscle car, but the SL 65 was a different story. Had AMG gone too far, was this automotive overkill? Either way, it’s a mighty special car.
An extreme bodykit shrouded a widened track, the fixed rear wing added much needed downforce and a 670bhp twin-turbocharged V12 lurked under the bonnet. There’s a fine line between brilliance and madness.
Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG
Touring car is a very big spectacle in Germany, and so when the Mercedes CLK won the championship there was cause for celebration. AMG created the road-legal CLK DTM, a real extreme machine that numbered just 100 globally. A full 574bhp would get the lucky owner from 0-62mph in just 3.9 seconds and on to 200mph.
Being about far more than just sheer acceleration, this car was lightened and tuned to ensure it cornered like a DTM car. Happily clocking 1.35g through the bends, this rarified CLK is a real collectors item today.
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
This was where AMG really came into its own. There were concerns that once Merc had total dominion over AMG, it would just become a shiny badge, but critics were proven wrong with he SLS. This was AMG’s first bespoke car.
Featuring those glorious gullwing doors that hark back to the original 300 SL, the elegant GT proved to be a regal flagship to the AMG range. Beneath that long bonnet was an old-school 6.3-litre V8 engine, something that granted the rear wheels 583bhp. The SLS AMG was also available as a convertible sporting the Roadster nameplate.
Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG 6×6
The automotive world was utterly stunned when AMG revealed what was arguably the most extreme vehicle in its history. The G 63 6×6 was effectively a G-wagon on steroids. As the name suggests, six-wheel drive would get this towering monster over just about any terrain you placed in front of it.
A twin-turbocharged V8 engine powered this colossus, a motor that provided 536bhp and 759Nm of torque. It hosts five locking differentials, 12.5-inch wide tyres and an onboard compressor to adjust tyre pressures on the go. It’s the ultimate ‘go anywhere’ vehicle.
Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
It might be lacking AMG in its name, but the CLK GTR is most certainly a product of Mercedes’ motorsport and performance division. Maybe most famous for flipping upside-down at Le Mans twice, this extreme machine was one of the fastest racers of its era. However, homologation rules meant that at least 25 road cars had to be built.
That’s right, there are road legal CLK GTRs out there that differ very little from the motorsport derivative. It retained that fire-breathing V12 engine and the aerodynamic bodywork, but a few creature comforts were added to the cabin. A series of CLK GTR Roadsters were also constructed.
Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL AMG ‘Red Pig’
This is the car that really announced to the world that AMG had arrived. While a notable tuner, AMG’s first headline came with its antics at the 1971 Spa 24 Hours. A customer approached AMG asking for a 300 SEL to be prepared for racing, and while the SEL was Germany’s fastest road car at the time, it remained a luxury saloon. AMG being AMG, it accepted the challenge and rocked up at Spa with a heavily modified car.
Quite naturally, people laughed as the SEL lined-up next to bespoke racing machines, with many naming it the ‘Red Pig.’ However, the grins were soon wiped from competitor’s faces when the car finished first in class and second overall. In fact, the SEL would have won outright if it weren’t for fuel and tyre consumption. AMG had shamed some serious racers with a luxury saloon, cementing its reputation of pushing boundaries.
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Keyword: Top 10 AMGs of all time