Mercedes-AMG appears to be preparing an all-out assault on the Nürburgring production car lap record with its new GT Black Series, which has been spied testing near the German circuit wearing an extreme aerodynamic package that suggests the model is being developed with one clear target in mind.
The prototype was photographed just outside the Nordschleife, giving a far clearer view of its hardware than earlier images captured in July, when a test mule was seen at speed on the 12.9-mile circuit. The latest sighting reveals a front-engined coupe covered in wings, scoops and vents, with the most striking additions being sets of active flaps mounted in the top of each front fender. These are understood to vent high-pressure air from the wheel housings when required and remain closed at other times to keep drag low.
Those flaps work alongside additional vents that exit air across the door skins above the side-exit exhausts. At the rear, a huge spoiler is mounted on swan-neck pylons and appears to feature some form of Formula One-style drag reduction system. The wing pushes down from above to press the 21-inch Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R rear tyres into the road, while a deeply veined diffuser pulls the car towards the tarmac to achieve the same effect.
Power is expected to come from a version of AMG's new 4.0-litre flat-plane crank V8, which made its debut last week in the 30-unit limited edition CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung. That car produces 637 bhp, but the Black Series will need considerably more if it is to beat the Ford Mustang GTD. The previous AMG GT Black Series already delivered 720 bhp, and its 6:48.04 lap in 2020 made it the Nürburgring production car record holder at the time.
That time has since slipped to fifth place, well behind the 6:40.83 set by the Mustang GTD, although that effort was technically classified as a prototype rather than a production car. The true production GTD recorded 6:52.072. The outright benchmark remains AMG's own One hypercar, which lapped in 6:29.09 in 2024 — a time that even the new Black Series' elaborate wing package may struggle to match.
The spy shots represent the closest look yet at the first new Black Series from AMG since the previous AMG GT ended production in 2020. The extensive aero work, including the active front fender flaps, the door-mounted vents and the DRS-style rear wing, indicates that Mercedes-AMG is leaving little to chance in its effort to reclaim a record it once held.
For Ford, the message is clear: its tenure in second place on the Nürburgring record board may be short-lived. The Mustang GTD's position looks increasingly vulnerable as AMG's development programme gathers pace, and the new Black Series has not even hit the track in earnest yet.