SEPANG: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia yesterday unveiled the Mercedes-AMG GT S, the second sports car developed entirely in-house by Mercedes-AMG after its first one, SLS-AMG.

This latest sports addition to the luxury carmaker’s stable comes in two variants: the normal edition of AMG GT and a limited edition of AMG GT Edition 1.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia vice-president of passenger car sales and marketing Mark Raine said with the new Mercedes-AMG GT, the Mercedes-AMG sports car brand is moving into a new, top-class sports car segment for the company.

“The new Mercedes-AMG GT S is a sports car in its purest form. Breathtaking proportions, powerfully sculpted surfaces and flowing lines turn the new AMG into a contemporary sports car,” he told reporters at the launch of the vehicle here yesterday.

“The centrepiece of the Mercedez-AMG GT S, the new 4-litre V8 biturbo, responds instantly with extreme power right from low revs and deliver outstanding performance,” he added.

Following the introduction of the new vehicle, Raine said the group is planning to bring in another lower specification model of the GT model, which has an engine output of 340kW.

“Apart from that, we will also be introducing the C63, a newer variant of our C-class model, by end of the year,” he added.

The Mercedes-AMG GT S is priced at RM1.15 million, while the Edition 1 is priced at RM1.2 million. Both models are now available for booking.

Raine said Mercedes, which saw its record monthly sales in May at 1,143 units from 544 units a year ago, is optimistic that the sales of Mercedes-Benz cars in Malaysia will remain satisfactory for the rest of the year.

This brought its total units sold in the first five months this year to 4,000, up 66% from the same period last year.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 25, 2015.