Mercedes may Take on the Porsche Cayman with a New Sports Car

Back in 2014, Mercedes took aim at the Porsche 911 and introduced the Mercedes-AMG GT (shown above). Then, a few months ago, the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe was revealed. If the latest rumor is to be believed, there will soon be a third sports car developed entirely by Mercedes-AMG: a Porsche 718 Cayman rival.

Autocar reports that Mercedes-AMG is working on a small sports car that will slot under the GT that would replace the SLC. But instead of sticking with a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, the new car may go mid-engine and draw styling cues from the Project One hypercar. There will also reportedly be a convertible version that competes with the 718 Boxster.

According to Autocar, the new sports car is still in the early stages of development but that Tobias Moers, head of AMG, has been hinting about it since earlier this year. When asked about the project, an unnamed manager at Mercedes told Autocar, “A lot of thought has gone into how Mercedes-AMG can better leverage its success in motorsport, particularly Formula 1 and endurance racing. One idea is a sports car that is relatively attainable financially and ideally suited to track day running. But it is just an idea and not a committed project right now.”

The potential motorsports ties also supposedly make this Cayman rival more likely than an AMG-developed SUV. According to Autocar‘s source, the goal would be to build a more affordable GT4 race car to take on the Porsche Cayman GT4, but the company also needs to see a business case for the road car.

“It’s a rapidly growing business segment and it is high exposure for the brand,” claimed the source. “From a marketing perspective, it makes great sense, but you also need to ensure that it is financially viable in sufficient volumes and at a price to make it attractive to car buyers on a global basis. It would be additional business for AMG, not targeted at existing customers but new ones.”

Source: Autocar

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