Mercedes AMG GTC ‘Edition 50’ Roadster Brings Shades of 300SL Back to the Future

For old-school Mercedes Benz enthusiasts like myself, Affalterbach (AMG) captures the essence of the iconic 300SL Gullwing inspired roadster of the late 1950’s, with a twist: The AMG GT C ‘ Edition 50 ‘ Roadster is limited to a world-wide production of 500 cars, with 50 earmarked for the U.S.. Read my vintage 300SL article here.

Undoubtedly, the 3.7 second Zero to 60 MPH, mostly handcrafted 550 horsepower, 502 lb-ft torque 2-place will sell out within weeks of offering -- becoming an instant collectible. Although AMG has yet to announce the MSRP, our friends at Car & Driver guestimate the key drop at $150,000+, for the AMG GT-C Roadster. I believe their guestimate to be low, considering the rarity of the offering. Mercedes AMG predicts that AMG GTC "Edition 50" will become available in select North American showrooms in Fall 2017, as a 2018 model. We anticipate a substantial premium charged on this very rare performance-roadster-offering. Unfortunately, I don't anticipate a media drive review of the AMG GTC anytime soon.

Mr Tobias Moers

We fist met Tobias Moers at the AMG Roadster reveal at the Los Angeles International Auto Show last Fall. He's quite a showman, and deservidlly enthusiastic as to the future of Mercedes AMG in North America.

AMG is using three special models to further enhance the 50th anniversary of the exclusive company, reinforcing the standard it has set itself to offer customers maximum individuality and exclusivity. "2016 was the most successful year so far in our company's history. We shall be using this momentum to fill even more customers with enthusiasm for Mercedes-AMG in our anniversary year, 2017. We shall be supported in this by our new Special Edition models, which we are presenting at the Geneva Motor Show. These models offer our customers an even wider choice of individual performance models," explained Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

For our specification obsessed friends

Technical data at a glance

AMG GT C Roadster ‘Edition 50'
Engine
Handcrafted AMG 4.0L V8 biturbo
Displacement
3,982 cc
Output
550 hp @ 5,750-6,750 rpm
Max. torque
502 lb-ft @ 1,900-5,750 rpm
Drive system
Rear-wheel drive, transaxle: Front engine, transmission at the rear axle, linked via Torque Tube
Transmission
AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed dual-clutch transmission
Acceleration 0-60 mph
3.7 s
Top speed
196 mph (electronically limited)