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While the wait for the Mercedes SLS AMG roadster version continues on, Mercedes is making the wait a little more bearable by surprising us with another SLS AMG: the GT3 version. The sports car will compete in the 2011 racing season.
The SLS AMG GT3 features a new new front apron with a splitter, the bonnet with central cooling air vent, wider front and rear wings, sideskirts with cooling ducts for the rear brakes, a rear diffuser and the adjustable rear aerofoil.
The race car will be powered by the same 6.3-liter V8 engine, but has been tuned to deliver an impressive +600 hp, a pretty significant spike from the road-going version of the SLS AMG which comes with a "standard" 571 hp.
Also on the interior, the SLS AMG GT3 version will drop all of its luxury amenities, including the air conditioning, navigation and upholstery. Instead, the car’s interior will be stripped down to only include a steel rollover cage, a racing bucket seat with a six-point seat belt and HANS system.
UPDATE 09/22/2011: Tobias Moers, Member of the Board of Directors and Head of Vehicle Development for AMG has confirmed that the SLS GT3 would not be racing in the US market because the company did not want to go through the added expense of re-certifying it for use on US soil.
UPDATE 11/04/2011: After four years of absence, Formula One and DTM driver Mika H�kkinen will make a comeback to the racing world as a guest driver in the SLS AMG GT3. He will participate in the season finale of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup on 13th November in Zhuhai (China) next to DTM driver CongFu Cheng and Lance David Arnold of Germany. Hit the jump for the video.
UPDATE 01/27/12: Mercedes has unveiled a new video showing the first steps of the SLS AMG GT3’s production. Enjoy!
Full story and press release after the jump.
Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 27 January 2012 16:00 EST.
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