Mercedes-AMG is preparing to push its GT to another level with a new Black Series, and Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius is already setting expectations extremely high.
The next-generation Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series is expected to make its debut in 2027 before reaching customers in 2028. More importantly, it is being developed alongside AMG’s next GT3 racing car, creating a much closer connection between the road and race programmes than a conventional high-performance GT derivative.
New AMG GT Black Series Will Be Closely Linked To GT3 Racer
The upcoming Black Series is set to become the most focused version of the current AMG GT platform.
Rather than simply extracting more power from the existing GT 63 formula, AMG is developing the car with its next-generation GT3 racer in mind. The Track Sport concept has already provided an early indication of the direction, with reduced weight, serious aerodynamic hardware and a V8 powertrain all central to the project.
Toyota’s new GR GT is likely to emerge as one of its closest rivals, particularly as both manufacturers pursue the increasingly rare formula of a road-legal supercar developed with motorsport firmly in the picture.
Black Series models have traditionally occupied the sharpest end of the AMG range. The badge first appeared on the SLK 55 AMG Black Series in 2006 and has since been reserved for particularly extreme road cars.
More Than 603 HP From AMG’s V8
Mercedes-AMG has yet to publish final specifications, but the new model is expected to comfortably eclipse the current AMG GT 63 Pro.
That car produces 603 hp (450 kW) and 850 Nm (627 lb-ft), meaning the next Black Series should move beyond those figures while also benefiting from substantial chassis, aerodynamic and weight-saving upgrades.
Källenius has suggested that AMG’s engineers have effectively been given permission to pursue something far more extreme than a normal GT derivative, describing the project as something unexpected and promising enthusiast drivers will not be disappointed.
Exactly how far AMG intends to take it remains unknown.
Flat-Plane-Crank V8 Could Be The Key
One of the biggest talking points is the engine.
The next GT Black Series is expected to use a highly developed version of Mercedes-AMG’s latest flat-plane-crank V8. Källenius has also made it clear that Mercedes still sees significant value in investing in combustion engines, particularly where performance cars are concerned.
There is plenty of precedent here. The previous-generation AMG GT Black Series also adopted a flat-plane-crank version of AMG’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. That engine produced 730 hp (537 kW) and 800 Nm, helping the car hit 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds and reach 325 km/h.
A flat-plane crank allows AMG engineers to optimise gas flow and engine response while creating an engine better suited to high-performance applications. The previous Black Series demonstrated just how effectively AMG could exploit the layout.
AMG Is Not Finished With The V8
The Black Series also forms part of a wider rethink of AMG’s combustion strategy.
Mercedes remains committed to plug-in hybrid technology where it makes sense, whether that means improving efficiency or adding outright performance. However, Källenius acknowledged that some customers continue to value the reduced mass and character of a less complicated non-PHEV powertrain.
That could prove particularly important for AMG’s most focused sports cars, where additional battery mass can work against the objective of producing the lightest and most responsive package possible.
Källenius is also a V8 enthusiast himself, owning a V8-powered Mercedes-AMG SL, and believes combustion technology will remain relevant for sports cars for years to come.
AMG One Mentality For The New Black Series
Mercedes appears to be approaching the GT Black Series with some of the same thinking that resulted in the extraordinary AMG One.
That project took technology derived from Mercedes-AMG’s Formula 1 programme and somehow turned it into a road-legal hypercar. It was an enormously difficult engineering exercise, but also produced one of the most technically ambitious Mercedes road cars ever made.
The next GT Black Series will be a very different machine, but the philosophy sounds familiar: give AMG’s engineers an ambitious target and allow them to chase it without turning the project into another mainstream performance model.
With a new V8, close links to the next GT3 racer and the Black Series badge attached to the boot, this could become one of the most significant AMG road cars of the decade.