Top Gear

Hello, and welcome to Top Gear.

Tonight, Chris and Rory head to Cuba to kick-start another revolution.

This time it's not communism, it's corners.

But first, I may have mentioned a time or two that I like

a Porsche 911. And I especially like this one, the GT3 RS.

It's less car, more surgical instrument.

See, for years, if you'd wanted something for the road AND

the track, this has been the answer.

The benchmark, the undisputed champion.

But now there's a new contender that quietly begs to differ.

It comes from Mercedes. And it's called the AMG GT R.

Like the 911 GT3 RS, it costs about Ł140,000.

But you get the sense that in creating the GT R,

the goal was less surgical instrument,

more the Hulk.

And, just like the Hulk, you wouldn't like it when it's angry.

Whoa! Whoa! I don't know what it's so upset about, but it seems really,

really mad.

This thing is alive. Oh, it's just brimming with energy.

Underneath that bonnet is a four-litre, twin-turbocharged V8.

I've got 580 horsepower.

I've got more than 500lb-ft of torque.

And in the exhaust is a trigger-happy firing squad.

Bang.

There goes another one.

And another one.

And all that noise comes with plenty of speed.

Whoa-ho!

0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds.

But the GT R feels faster.

As for top speed...

Well, Mercedes says the GT R isn't really about

top speed, they're not bothered. So, flat out, it'll only do 198mph.

I know. I'll do my best to cope.

Fantastic!

But to be a true GT3 RS rival, the big question is,

how does it corner?

And to be honest, this is the bit I'm kind of nervous about.

Because the normal AMG GT, the car Mercedes put on

a Russian Olympic diet to make this GT R, that car has a lot of pitch

under braking, which makes it twitchy and unpredictable on corners.

It's basically... You never know when it's going to bite you in the ass.

And this car, they've given more power and less weight,

which essentially makes it even bitier.

This could be interesting.

Oh, that's not bitey! That's brilliant.

There's so much grip.

That's because underneath that Marvel Comics paint job,

there's a lightweight titanium exhaust,

a race-tuned suspension, a whole new track-focused aero package...

..and my favourite bit, rear-wheel steering.

See it? See it move? Cool, right?

And that makes the GT R super agile in the slow corners,

but super stable in the higher speed corners.

And the suspension keeps the car so flat, you can really tell

what the tyres are up to and know exactly how hard you can push it.

Oh, yeah! That is nice.

That's real nice.

I love it.

And at top speed,

this thing makes 155 kilos more downforce than the normal AMG GT.

I mean, me personally, I'd say it feels more like 153, 154,

but, you know, I don't want to nit-pick.

Now, as a rule, to be a serious track weapon, a car should have its

engine in the middle, not underneath a long bonnet way out in the front.

But with the GT R, looks can be deceiving.

Take a look at this.

This isn't the engine,

it's just a cover to hide a bunch of crap nobody wants to see.

This is the engine. Behind the front wheels.

So this IS a mid-engined car,

you just don't sit in front of the engine, you sit behind it.

All of which makes it pretty handy around a racetrack,

including, yes, that German racetrack.

Late last year, this car lapped the Nurburgring in 7 minutes, 11 seconds.

Now, say what you want about Nurburgring times, but that's way quicker

than a Ferrari 488, way quicker than a Corvette ZR1,

and, oh, yeah, way quicker than the Porsche GT3 RS.

Mercedes says no rear-drive road car has ever gone quicker.

So don't let its appearance fool you.

Yeah, the GT R might look like it wants to kick you in the cubes,

but this really is a sophisticated track machine.

A genuine Porsche rival.

And I've got to say, I think that's a shame.

Because Mercedes, well, AMG, has spent years and years making

tyre-smoking, socially unacceptable, nutjob cars.

And you don't want to throw away a reputation like that just for

a Nurburgring lap time and a little, tiny spat with Porsche.

And you know what, they haven't.

That AMG animal is still in there.

You just have to unlock the cage.

And the key is in the GT R's race-car spec,

nine-stage traction control system.

Here, in technical terms, is how it works. This end...

..Bruce Banner.

This end...

..the Hulk.

And so far today, I've been sticking to the Bruce Banner end.

But do you know what happens when you turn it to the Hulk end?

It gets mad.

I'm out of control, and I love it.

OK, that's definitely not the fastest way around a corner,

but it sure is exhilarating.

This car is a hooligan, a hooligan.

This is an AMG. No doubt about it.

Troublemaker! You're a troublemaker. But I love you.

You know what, I was wrong.

I mean, yeah, sure, this car can play the part of a precise, sophisticated

rival to the GT3 RS, but what it really is

is a muscle car.

A muscle car built by the best F1 team on the planet,

and that is a very, very good thing.

Wow! I mean, just look at it. - Yeah.

Look at it! It's just so...green.

- Well, you're perceptive. - No, I've been doing this a while.

I tell you what, though, this is not going to impress Nissan.

OK, what has that have to do with them?

Nissan has built an entire brand around building a front engine,

turbo-charged sports car called the GT-R.

Yeah? AMG comes along, builds a front engine,

- turbo-charged sports car called the GT R. - No, no, no.

See, the Nissan GT-R, that's GT hyphen R.

This is a GT no hyphen R.

Completely different. - Come on.

So, I choose to release a brown liquid beverage called

- Coca Cola, no hyphen, and that's absolutely fine? - No, no.

First of all, anything that starts with you releasing

a brown liquid is definitely not fine. No, no, no.

Right, now it's time for the big movement... Moment. Oh!

We need to find out how quick the GT no hyphen R is around our test track,

and you know what that means. It's time for...The Stig.

Off the line.

Managing traction, he short shifts to second quite quickly.

Now, this long run down to first corner.

Let's look what it looks like as it turns in.

Really flat, controlling all that roll, looks fast,

but oversteer on the exit, managing it.

Now blending left, into Chicago.

A tight line so he can get it opened up and get on the gas.

It just looks like it wants to oversteer everywhere,

but it looks stiff, doesn't it? It looks flat and it looks agile.

Braking hard, triggering those warning lights.

Hammerhead, what's it like through the right-hander direction change?

Really good, actually.

Turned well, coming out, managing oversteer again.

But it seems that once he gets through that initial slip,

he's got really good traction. Through the follow-through.

That's just fast and flat again.

What's it going to be like when it booms through the tyres?

Now, that was really, really fast.

Using all the circuit and the trail brake. Into second to last.

Look at that, good, controlled driving from Stig.

Now, rolling down towards Gambon and over the line.

I think that's going to be a really fast time.

Quick. Quick.

OK, now...

The old AMG GTS did it in 1.17.5, which, that's pretty quick, too.

- That's a fast time. - That is a fast time.

So we're looking to be somewhere way up here.

Now, the new AMG GT R did it in

one minute...

16 flat. That's right there.

- That is seriously quick. - That's a quick time. And...

And in the same conditions, we got The Stig to lap the GT3 RS. OK.

Now, the GT3 RS did it in one minute...

16.1.

So...move that Veyron down.

Get that thing out of the way.

All right, there's that.

There it is, in black and white -

the Mercedes is faster.

It is faster.

- I'd still have the Porsche, though. - So would I.

I would too. Rory.

Loving that Merc.

Just to save you looking it up,

that's even faster than the Smart Fortwo went round our track

a couple of weeks ago.

I knew that Merc was quick.

All right. OK...

Now it's time to welcome this week's guest.

He's a stand-up comedian, he also loves off-roaders,

motorbikes and heavy machinery,

so you two can probably just take off now. Yeah.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ross Noble.

Hello, hello!

How are you doing? - Hello.

Thank you very much.

All right. - Hi.

Now, you are into your bikes, I know,

so did you ride down or drive down?

No, I drove down today.

I brought my mate, so we came in the car.

I thought it best to turn up to Top Gear in a car.

OK. What did you drive?

My Land Rover Defender.

Defender, oh, OK.

Standard Defender or any tweaks?

No, massive tweaks.

It's a Kahn, a fully customed...