Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Claims 'Fully-Fledged' Nürburgring Record

Update: In an email to Motor1.com, a Mercedes-Benz representative clarified the claimed record as applying to a four-seat vehicle. Even though the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 has four seats, its record run had a roll cage in place of the rear seat as part of the two-seat Track Pack option, which does save weight according to Jaguar's press release on the lap.

Mercedes-Benz has been exercising its AMG GT 63 S 4-Door at the Nürburgring, and today the automaker dropped a video showing the car lapping the Nordschleife in 7 minutes 25.41 seconds. That’s a sizzling fast time for any car, never mind a production-spec Merc with four doors and seating for four adults. In fact, it’s fast enough for Mercedes to claim a four-door record, but here’s where things get a bit complicated, and if we’re honest, a tad nit-picky.

Right off the bat, Jaguar enthusiasts will cry foul because the XE SV Project 8 is faster. It remains the current ‘Ring king of production sedans with an undisputed lap time of 7 minutes 21.23 seconds. However, notice we didn’t mention Mercedes and sedan in the same sentence? Neither does Mercedes, which is certainly a bit awkward since it seems the automaker wants to claim a title for a segment it doesn’t acknowledge with the GT 4-door, which the company actually calls a 4-door coupe.

Pedantics aside, the AMG GT 63 S still has four doors and seating for four adults, and it’s still slower than the Jag which has the same attributes. How exactly is Mercedes claiming a record then? In its video description for the lap, Mercedes says the GT 63 S is “the fastest fully-fledged four-seater production car to ever conquer the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife.” Fully-fledged four-seater is the key here, since the Project 8 is a special build with just 300 cars slated for production and set the record with the lighter two-seat Track Package. Mercedes, meanwhile, will build as many four-seat AMG GT 4-Door models as it can sell.

The AMG GT 4-door is the fastest four-seater:

2019 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door First Drive: Wunderbar

Yes, it’s a very nit-picky claim from Mercedes that has all the earmarks of a failed outright record attempt spun to a positive. Never the less, the automaker has a point in that the AMG isn’t a purpose-built, limited-edition track machine like the Project 8. If anything, getting to within a few seconds of the hardcore Jag further showcases just how amazing the GT 4-Door can be. We’re certainly impressed, and once you watch the video, we suspect you will be too.

Source: Mercedes-AMG via YouTube