Mercedes intends the AMG GT to be their 911 competitor, and our candidate for today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe contest certainly does exhibit some Porsche vibes in its various views. Let’s see if it’s priced accordingly.
Over the course of my meager existence, I’ve watched several notable car models traverse the expected arc of life. They start out being fairly common on the road, transitioning to being less common there but more so in the junkyards, finally to the point of only popping up at the occasional car meet or Concours. There, people will lean to one another and ask “remember these?” A few will laud the owner for keeping the oddity alive.
Yesterday’s 1986 Merkur XR4Ti is in the twilight of that life. You almost never see these on the road anymore, and it’s getting less and less likely to find one moldering sadly away in your local U-Pull yard. That means that eventually, your only chance to get up close and personal with one will be due to the eagerness and effort of that one crazy fan who keeps their example alive and kicking and drags it out to the local Cars and Caffeine. At just $2,500, fully 68 percent of you felt that wouldn’t be such a bad role to take on, earning the Merkur a solid Nice Price win. We should probably pour out a 40 for all those that didn’t make it as far.
Do you have a metals fetish? Don’t worry, you’re among friends.
You very well may if you find the discussion of the properties expressed by different metals to be scintillating. Perhaps you even steer party conversation to the topic of the special magnesium tools required of the SR71 spy plane, or to the remarkable oil retention properties of Nikasil cylinder liners.
That sort of metallurgic fixation would lead one to love this 2015 Mercedes Benz AMG GT S. That’s because this V8-powered sports car is made up of all kinds of the stuff.
The AMG GT was introduced in 2014 as only the second vehicle designed wholly by Mercedes’ AMG performance brand. Mercedes got serious in their attempt to give Porsche’s 911 some competition with the new car, even to the point of employing F1 pilot Lewis Hamilton as a development driver.
Of course, you’re wondering what all makes this AMG a metal maniac’s jam. Well, the GT employs a bonded aluminum space-frame for a chassis. To that is bolted a steel rear hatch and a magnesium hood. More aluminum makes up the double-wishbone suspension present at each corner, as well as much of the engine and rear-mounted seven-speed DCT gearbox.
That engine is a hand-built twin-turbo 4-litre V8 that in the S variant gives it up to the tune of 503 horsepower. An electronically managed LSD helps keep all those ponies in line. Carbon Ceramic brake discs and massive multi-pot calipers help there too.
This GT S comes in Black on black and seemingly as totally stock. It’s offered by a private party and with a mere 7,400 miles on the clock, meaning some parts might not even be fully broken in yet. Hell, I’ll bet there are still some blank station pre-set spots on the stereo.
The ad is a bit light on the details, and I’m not sure where the seller comes up with the spec of 537 horsepower. I guess once you get above about 400 ponies no one really cares, right? The VIN is included and a quick Internet search of that shows a previous dealer sale with less than 1,000 miles under its belt at the time.
The current owner claims the car to have lived an enviable life, always being garaged between what must have been infrequent exercise regimes as well as regular service by a Mercedes Benz dealer. It comes with a clear title and its various keys, manuals and service records. The bodywork looks to be in as-new condition with no evidence of door dings, road chips or curb rashed wheels. The interior presents in like shape, as does the engine bay.
When brand spakin’ new, the GT S would have cost $130,000 just to start negotiating options. Out the door, it would have been closer to $160,000. That’s a lot of cabbage, and while I’m not suggesting that this car’s $87,900 asking isn’t, it’s still a damn-sight less-so here, four years from new. That’s substantial depreciation for a car, especially a really expensive one, and you have to expect that it’s not done on that elevator ride downstairs.
The question for you, however, is less about price and more about value. Could this GT S’s low mileage, clear title, and clean appearance make it an excellent deal at that $87,900 price? Or, is this an AMG still priced to make you say GTFO?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area, CA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to FauxShizzle for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOCP. Hit me up at rob@jalopnik.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.