Total Throttle's video: 2018 Mercedes AMG GT-R vs 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS

SUBSCRIBE LIKE AND SHARE!!! Mercedes AMG GT-R 2018 German design is supposed to be about restraint, about form following function. Bombastic flourishes and stylistic middle fingers are typically verboten; ­Mercedes- Benz design chief Gorden Wagener is fond of telling his staff to pull lines out of their designs. But with the AMG GT R, they went ahead and added a few, and you won’t hear us complaining. The be-winged, be-splittered GT R exudes just the right amount of menace for AMG’s new range topper. Powertrain Under that mile-long hood, the GT R sports a twin-turbo V-8 based on the one in lesser AMG GTs, but with a revised intake, new forged aluminum pistons, and a higher compression ratio. The ­output dial gets turned up, from 503 horses to 577, and from 479 pound-feet of torque to 516. A lighter dual-mass flywheel is said to engender quicker responses and powertrain feel akin to that of a naturally aspirated engine. The titanium exhaust pipes move to the center of the rear fascia, and the aural ex­peri­ence should be every bit as forceful as the visual one. The torque path to the rear wheels flows through a tweaked version of the “wet” seven-speed automatic fitted to the GT S. Nine settings for the stability-control system allow the driver to tailor the amount of acceptable wheelslip precisely to his or her desire and talent (which, granted, are not always equal). Chassis This latest addition to the AMG GT family has a significantly wider stance than its brethren. Its flared-out fenders (carbon fiber up front) enshroud wheel tracks that are 1.8 inches wider up front and 2.2 inches more bodacious in back. Its Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber measures 275/35ZR-19 in the nose and 325/30ZR-20 aft and should stick to pavement like hot Tootsie Rolls. The carbon-ceramic braking system tucked behind those 10-spoke wheels is standard, as are the gold calipers. The GT R shares its electronically controlled limited-slip differential with the GT S, but the rear-wheel steering system is the R’s alone—so far. Two electric motors adjust the toe angle of the rear wheels, and we expect this setup will greatly enhance the high-speed stability of a car that we’ve found to be a little darty. Porsche 911 GT2 RS This is the first 911 to wear the GT2 suffix since the short-lived 2011 GT2 RS, which was introduced at the end of the 997 model generation with a then-crazy-sounding 620 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque from its turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six, a six-speed manual transmission, and a feathery curb weight of just 3085 pounds. It could hit 60 mph in 3.3 seconds on its way to a claimed top speed of 209 mph. Its massive Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires also clung to the asphalt with 1.07g of lateral grip. The arrival of that limited-production, $246,000 car was accompanied by no shortage of hyperbole: “Porsche at its most extreme;” “the most serious 911 ever;” “a 620-hp, rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive terror.” When carmakers show up at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, they tend not to arrive without a panoply of vehicles. This year, Porsche brought a slew of fast things, including the 1978 935 racecar affectionately known as Moby Dick, the new 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series, and the 919 LMP1 fresh from its win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans less than two weeks earlier. It also chose this occasion to reveal the most powerful, most expensive, and most insane-sounding 911 in history: the 2018 911 GT2 RS. This is the first 911 to wear the GT2 suffix since the short-lived 2011 GT2 RS, which was introduced at the end of the 997 model generation with a then-crazy-sounding 620 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque from its turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six, a six-speed manual transmission, and a feathery curb weight of just 3085 pounds. It could hit 60 mph in 3.3 seconds on its way to a claimed top speed of 209 mph. Its massive Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires also clung to the asphalt with 1.07g of lateral grip. The arrival of that limited-production, $246,000 car was accompanied by no shortage of hyperbole: “Porsche at its most extreme;” “the most serious 911 ever;” “a 620-hp, rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive terror.” Seven years on, it appears we may have to find some new ways to describe “terror,” because Porsche has tapped into even deeper reserves of power for the 991-based 2018 model, to the tune of an unholy 700 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. Technically, that’s in line with recent reports that the car would boast more than 641 horses, but it’s far more than was anticipated. The engine is based on the Turbo S’s 3.8-liter flat-six but with larger turbos, a water injection system for additional charge-cooling, and a lightweight titanium exhaust system. The 2018 GT2 RS is offered only with a customized version of Porsche’s seven-speed, PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission that “enables power to be transferred with uninterrupted traction,” according to Stuttgart.