Mercedes Premieres New Safety Car at the DTM

2015 Mercedes-AMG GT S Safety Car will be the premiered car at the second DTM race at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. Behind the steering wheel will be Jürgen Kastenholz. The new sport vehicle will make sure there is enough safety on the race track. What is more, the car will be also deployed at the fourth race in Zandvoort, Netherlands, and at the final race in Hockenheim in October.

Mercedes-AMG GT S will also substitute the previous C 63 AMG Coupé Black Series Safety Car. The new vehicle is almost identical to the Official Safety Car being deployed at all of the 19 races of the 2015 Formula 1 season. In particular, GT S boasts front mid-engine concept with transaxle, V8 biturbo powerplant with dry sump lubrication, the dual clutch transmission and fantastic sports suspension with aluminium double-wishbone.

The most impressive part about this car is the driving dynamics. Here, the aluminium lightweight design not only allows for lowering the weight of the vehicle, but also for a low centre of gravity thus managing distribution of 47 to 53 percent between front and rear axle.

Drivetrain

The drivetrain of the DTM safety car matches that of the GT S road-going version. This means that it is the 4.0-litre V8 biturbo that has a maximum output of 510 hp (375 kW) and 650 Newton metres (480 lb-ft) of peak torque. This guarantees an acceleration time from a standing start to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. The Vmax is positioned at 310 km/h. The engine is mated to an AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed sports transmission.

AMG DYNAMIC PLUS

Mercedes is offering AMG DYNAMIC PLUS package with which the Safety Car will get dynamic engine and transmission mounts and "RACE" DYNAMIC SELECT transmission mode and "M" mode.

The package also adds tauter spring and damper tuning, negative camber at the front axle and adapted speed-sensitive sports steering system. Rounding out the pack is the performance steering wheel wrapped in black DINAMICA microfibre as well as the yellow highlights in the instrument cluster.

Brakes, Wheels & Tires

The Mercedes-AMG car runs on matt black 19-inch forged wheels mated with 265/35 R and 295/30 R 20 tires at the front and rear, respectively. In addition, the braking system comprises of ceramic brake discs with a diameter of 402 millimetres at the front and 360 millimetres at the rear. It delivers lowered weight, a longer service life and better fade resistance.

Aerodynamics package

In terms of aerodynamics, the safety car gets an optimized carbon-fibre air scoop on the roof. Thanks to it, there is a least possible airstream resistance, while the flow of air towards the fixed rear aerofoil. In addition, the new front spoiler helps in reducing the lift at the front and rear axles.

Interior

The cockpit is extremely exclusive and features radio equipment and sports bucket seats that keep the diver fully focused on the track. Six-point seat belts provide maximum support. The Performance steering wheel is wrapped in black nappa leather and DINAMICA microfibre with flattened bottom section and silver-coloured aluminium shift paddles. Everything else throughout the interior is like the one of the production model.

At last, we must mention that the signalling functions on the light bar will be performed by fast-responding and energy-efficient LEDs.

Mercedes-AMG GT S Safety Car (2015)

Source: Mercedes-Benz