If you’re a fan of German cars, you’ve heard of AMG. And if you haven’t, then come along mein freund, you have a lot of catching up to do!
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AMG’s rise from small-time racing outfit to Mercedes-backed sports car manufacturer hasn’t happened overnight. From capturing second place overall in the 1971 24 Hours of Spa endurance race in a thunderous 300 SEL sedan, to winning the 2014 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, the pinnacle of motorsports achievements, AMG has established itself as a force to be reckoned with on racetracks around the world.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Mercedes-AMG is expanding the GT family with a new AMG GT C Edition 50 model. (MERCEDES-BENZ)
Today, the AMG brand itself is attached directly to the proud Mercedes nameplate, and there is barely a single model in the brand's entire lineup that doesn't have an AMG-tuned version with insane horsepower and top-notch handling chops. Now that it’s more closely aligned than ever before to the might of the Mercedes brand, AMG’s future has never looked brighter or bolder – especially if you’re a fan of 503-horsepower sports cars. (Yeah, we are too!)
This year, AMG celebrates its 50th anniversary of making the most bad-ass Mercedes-Benz models on the planet, so let’s take a look back at the history of Affalterbach’s crazy German muscle car maker, and how a tiny tuning shop came to be a performance powerhouse.
(DAIMLER AG)
AMG traces its roots to the 1960s, when racing engineers Hans Werner Aufrecht (A) and Erhard Melcher (M) began tuning Mercedes engines in Aufrecht’s home in Großaspach (G), Germany. They had been developing a racing engine from the 300 SE sedan: a 6.8-liter V8 that would put the Germans a leap ahead of all comers. The engine was supposed to be used in Daimler’s racing program, but budget limitations got the better of them, and they axed the program in the early 60s.
Aufrecht and Melcher did not give up, however, and continued to tune the formidable engine in their spare time. In 1965, Manfred Schiek, a Daimler racing driver, won the German Touring Car Championship ten times with their engine, cementing Aufrecht and Melcher’s reputation as performance car engineers.
This sparked the duo to officially found the AMG engineering firm in 1967, and led to their first major milestone at the 24 Hours of Spa in 1971, where the AMG Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8 won its class and came in second place overall. A large German luxury sedan beating out lightweight and purpose-built sports cars of the time was unheard of, and AMG gained instant international racing fame.
With fame came expansion, and AMG moved to its current headquarters in Affalterbach, a sleepy apple-orchard-ridden town just North of Stuttgart in 1976. By 1984, it had grown to become a full-fledged engine manufacturer, rather than just a tuning house. But it was in 1986 that it exploded onto the production car scene, with the famous AMG “Hammer.” By placing the 5.0-liter V8 with quad-valve technology into a Mercedes E-Class, AMG took the world by storm.
Powered by a 5.5-liter V8 making 355 horsepower and 388 lb.-ft. of torque, The Hammer held the title of the fastest passenger sedan in the world for many years with a top speed of 178 mph. This stealthy black-on-black monster set the tone of outlandishness for all future AMG models.
AMG signed a cooperation agreement with Daimler-Benz in 1990, allowing its parts to be sold and maintained in the worldwide Mercedes-Benz dealership network. Four years later, the first true production Mercedes-Benz AMG car was born in the form of the C36 AMG. With 268 horsepower from its 3.6-liter inline 6-cylinder engine, the C36 was ready to take on the best that Germany, and the rest of the world, had to offer.
Sales grew, as did the links between AMG and Mercedes. Roughly 25 years after that unlikely success at the grueling Spa endurance race, Mercedes purchased the majority of AMG to form Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
In the last nearly three decades of its partnership, Mercedes-AMG has produced some of the most sought-after and mind-blowingly fast cars in the world. They teamed up in the late 90s to build the FIA GT Championship-winning CLK GTR, a Le Mans-ready world-beater that was famous for its terrifying speed and unpredictable tendencies. It even flew straight up into the air with former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber at the wheel (seriously, check this out).
They’re also renowned for shoehorning a massive 7.3-liter V12 into the SL roadster to form the SL73 AMG. This Ferrari-killing German grand-tourer made an eye-popping 518 horsepower and 553 lb.-ft. of torque and reached 60 mph in only 4.8 seconds on the way to a top speed of 186 mph. For 1999, these were staggering numbers. The V-12 from the SL73 was so mighty, it was used in the ultra-exclusive Pagani Zonda hypercar.
For 2018, all AMG GT models will boast the distinctive AMG Panamericana grille with 15 chrome-plated bars and include Mercedes’ Airpanel active air management system. (MERCEDES-BENZ)
In the last few years, AMG has been responsible for the achingly beautiful SLS AMG gullwing and super-fast SL65 Black Series, and has even had some oddballs thrown into the mix in the form of the G63 6x6 and the hearse-like R63 wagon. They also debuted their first ever dedicated factory model in the form of the Mercedes-AMG GT back in 2015.
Most recently, AMG capped off 2014, 2015, and 2016 with a hattrick of Formula 1 Constructors’ Championships, a feat only seldom achieved in racing history.
With the 50th Anniversary GT C, Mercedes-AMG is still taking on well-established sports cars like the Porsche 911, Aston Martin Vantage, and Audi R8 V8, along with formidable newcomers like the Jaguar F-Type. That’s a daunting task for any automaker.
But as AMG’s history proves, challenges defined this brand’s DNA.
For more information about the history of AMG, visit the AMG website.
read more
FOLLOW DAILY NEWS AUTOS ON FACEBOOK. 'LIKE' US HERE.
AMG’s rise from small-time racing outfit to Mercedes-backed sports car manufacturer hasn’t happened overnight. From capturing second place overall in the 1971 24 Hours of Spa endurance race in a thunderous 300 SEL sedan, to winning the 2014 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, the pinnacle of motorsports achievements, AMG has established itself as a force to be reckoned with on racetracks around the world.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Mercedes-AMG is expanding the GT family with a new AMG GT C Edition 50 model. (MERCEDES-BENZ)
Today, the AMG brand itself is attached directly to the proud Mercedes nameplate, and there is barely a single model in the brand's entire lineup that doesn't have an AMG-tuned version with insane horsepower and top-notch handling chops. Now that it’s more closely aligned than ever before to the might of the Mercedes brand, AMG’s future has never looked brighter or bolder – especially if you’re a fan of 503-horsepower sports cars. (Yeah, we are too!)
This year, AMG celebrates its 50th anniversary of making the most bad-ass Mercedes-Benz models on the planet, so let’s take a look back at the history of Affalterbach’s crazy German muscle car maker, and how a tiny tuning shop came to be a performance powerhouse.
(DAIMLER AG)
AMG traces its roots to the 1960s, when racing engineers Hans Werner Aufrecht (A) and Erhard Melcher (M) began tuning Mercedes engines in Aufrecht’s home in Großaspach (G), Germany. They had been developing a racing engine from the 300 SE sedan: a 6.8-liter V8 that would put the Germans a leap ahead of all comers. The engine was supposed to be used in Daimler’s racing program, but budget limitations got the better of them, and they axed the program in the early 60s.
Aufrecht and Melcher did not give up, however, and continued to tune the formidable engine in their spare time. In 1965, Manfred Schiek, a Daimler racing driver, won the German Touring Car Championship ten times with their engine, cementing Aufrecht and Melcher’s reputation as performance car engineers.
This sparked the duo to officially found the AMG engineering firm in 1967, and led to their first major milestone at the 24 Hours of Spa in 1971, where the AMG Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8 won its class and came in second place overall. A large German luxury sedan beating out lightweight and purpose-built sports cars of the time was unheard of, and AMG gained instant international racing fame.
With fame came expansion, and AMG moved to its current headquarters in Affalterbach, a sleepy apple-orchard-ridden town just North of Stuttgart in 1976. By 1984, it had grown to become a full-fledged engine manufacturer, rather than just a tuning house. But it was in 1986 that it exploded onto the production car scene, with the famous AMG “Hammer.” By placing the 5.0-liter V8 with quad-valve technology into a Mercedes E-Class, AMG took the world by storm.
Powered by a 5.5-liter V8 making 355 horsepower and 388 lb.-ft. of torque, The Hammer held the title of the fastest passenger sedan in the world for many years with a top speed of 178 mph. This stealthy black-on-black monster set the tone of outlandishness for all future AMG models.
AMG signed a cooperation agreement with Daimler-Benz in 1990, allowing its parts to be sold and maintained in the worldwide Mercedes-Benz dealership network. Four years later, the first true production Mercedes-Benz AMG car was born in the form of the C36 AMG. With 268 horsepower from its 3.6-liter inline 6-cylinder engine, the C36 was ready to take on the best that Germany, and the rest of the world, had to offer.
Sales grew, as did the links between AMG and Mercedes. Roughly 25 years after that unlikely success at the grueling Spa endurance race, Mercedes purchased the majority of AMG to form Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
In the last nearly three decades of its partnership, Mercedes-AMG has produced some of the most sought-after and mind-blowingly fast cars in the world. They teamed up in the late 90s to build the FIA GT Championship-winning CLK GTR, a Le Mans-ready world-beater that was famous for its terrifying speed and unpredictable tendencies. It even flew straight up into the air with former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber at the wheel (seriously, check this out).
They’re also renowned for shoehorning a massive 7.3-liter V12 into the SL roadster to form the SL73 AMG. This Ferrari-killing German grand-tourer made an eye-popping 518 horsepower and 553 lb.-ft. of torque and reached 60 mph in only 4.8 seconds on the way to a top speed of 186 mph. For 1999, these were staggering numbers. The V-12 from the SL73 was so mighty, it was used in the ultra-exclusive Pagani Zonda hypercar.
For 2018, all AMG GT models will boast the distinctive AMG Panamericana grille with 15 chrome-plated bars and include Mercedes’ Airpanel active air management system. (MERCEDES-BENZ)
In the last few years, AMG has been responsible for the achingly beautiful SLS AMG gullwing and super-fast SL65 Black Series, and has even had some oddballs thrown into the mix in the form of the G63 6x6 and the hearse-like R63 wagon. They also debuted their first ever dedicated factory model in the form of the Mercedes-AMG GT back in 2015.
Most recently, AMG capped off 2014, 2015, and 2016 with a hattrick of Formula 1 Constructors’ Championships, a feat only seldom achieved in racing history.
With the 50th Anniversary GT C, Mercedes-AMG is still taking on well-established sports cars like the Porsche 911, Aston Martin Vantage, and Audi R8 V8, along with formidable newcomers like the Jaguar F-Type. That’s a daunting task for any automaker.
But as AMG’s history proves, challenges defined this brand’s DNA.
For more information about the history of AMG, visit the AMG website.
read more
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