The original Mercedes-AMG GT3 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2015 as a racing variant of the AMG GT road car. It used the M159 6,208 cc V8 naturally aspirated engine — the same unit employed in the SLS AMG GT3 — and featured a body constructed largely from carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer to bring overall weight below 1,300 kg in compliance with FIA GT3 regulations. By June 2019, a total of 130 examples of the first-generation car had been sold to customer racing teams worldwide.
The Evo variant introduced for 2020 brought a range of technical and practical improvements over the original car. New electronics included an automatic data logger and analysis system, and the engine management now supports a function that automatically starts the engine when the car is lowered from its integrated air jacks — a time-saving feature during pit stops. New brake and traction control systems were also fitted.
The exterior design was updated to align with the revised styling of the AMG GT road car, most visibly through new LED headlamps and a revised front grille that also provides improved protection for the radiator. The front splitter and rear wing were redesigned to allow faster trackside adjustments between sessions.
The decision to retain the 6.2-litre V8 rather than adopting the 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged engine of the contemporary road car was deliberate: Mercedes-AMG's engineers cited the established unit's user-friendliness and reliability record as the primary reason for continuing with it in the race programme.
The first-generation GT3, which the Evo replaced, had established a strong customer racing record. In the 2016 Blancpain Endurance Series, teams including AKKA ASP, Black Falcon, HTP Motorsport, and Zakspeed competed with the car; Zakspeed also entered the ADAC GT Masters that year, and the AMG GT3s claimed a 1-2-3-4-6 result at the 24 Hours Nürburgring. In the 2016 Super GT GT300 class the AMG GT3 made its series debut with multiple Japanese customer teams, replacing SLS AMG GT3 entries.
In North America, Riley Technologies entered two AMG GT3s in the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD class. One car finished third in class and 20th outright at the 2017 24 Hours of Daytona, and the team subsequently won the GTD class at the 2017 12 Hours of Sebring, finishing 16th outright.
The Evo's eligibility for the FIA World Endurance Championship's LM GT3 class starting from 2025 marks Mercedes-AMG's return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1999, ending an absence that followed the AMG CLR incidents at that race.
A limited production variant called the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Edition 55 was offered in 2023 and 2024, with only five units produced, each priced at €625,000. The model commemorated AMG's 55th anniversary as a company.
The AMG GT3 programme demonstrated the viability of Mercedes-AMG's road-to-race transfer strategy and built a substantial global customer racing network over its initial generation. The Evo update extended the car's competitive life by ensuring regulatory compliance and improving the practical experience for customer teams, while development of a fully new second-generation GT3 based on the C192 chassis was confirmed in January 2025 for a customer debut in 2027.
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