How do you give acknowledgement to a race car as legendary as the “Red Pig”? With a trio of track-only speed machines, apparently. That seems to be approach Mercedes-AMG is taking at least. The German automaker’s performance division has fair disclosed three one-off GT3 special editions in celebration of the 50th commemoration of the crimson cruiser’s most prominent accomplishment.
Way back before Aufrecht Melcher Großaspach (AMG) got to be an official portion of Mercedes, it was a small engine tuning outfit run by Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher. The shop rapidly earned respects upon its opening in 1967, but it wasn’t until 1971, when one of its cars won its class and put second overall at the 24 Hours of Spa, that AMG’s profile truly climbed. That car was none other than the “Red Pig,” a Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 AMG. From that point on, AMG wasn’t fair offering performance parts and add-ons; it was offering full builds as well.
To celebrate this accomplishment, Mercedes-AMG have just reported three one-of-a-kind “50 Years Legend of Spa” version GT3s. The cream of the crop is the SLS AMG GT3, which was built utilizing the only remaining bodyshell from the gull-winged terrific tourer’s four-year production run. That’s followed by a 2016 model year GT3 and a 2020 GT3 built on chassis no. 100.
Whereas the cars themselves are marginally distinctive from one another, their exterior colorway and interior trim bundles are indistinguishable. This implies that each vehicle is finished in the correct red as the “Red Pig” and exhibits all the same racing numbers and support decals. Break open the entryways and you’ll discover everything done up in matte Graphite Metallic, a carbon instrument board and a extraordinary plaque with Aufrecht’s signature that signifies each vehicle’s variant nature. Each car is additionally fueled by an AMG 6.3-liter V-8 that produces 650 steeds. The process doesn’t have an air restrictor, though, so you’ll only be able to drive these cars on the track.
The GT3 has never come cheap, but that’s particularly true of these special one-of-a-kind models. The SLS AMG GT3 will fetched roughly $769,000, the 2020 GT3 $681,000 and the 2016 GT3 $592,000. In case you’re searching for something a little less costly, Arthur Bechtel Classic Motors’s replica of the “Red Pig” runs only $400,000.
