What's the news?

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed what we've known for a long time now; that it will launch a new sports car in the same price bracket as the Porsche 911. It will be called the AMG GT, power will come from a V8 petrol engine and here are the first official photographs of the car.

Quality seems to be high on the agenda, with no apparent lack of frills. The design follows some of the same styling seen on other Mercedes-Benz cars such as the larger centrally mounted 'floating' infotainment display and the new U-shaped gear selector. The heavily bolstered leather sports seats give a further indication that the new Mercedes-AMG GT should be capable of offering substantial performance when it arrives.

Anything else?

Unlike the Porsche 911 - already touted as its biggest rival - the AMG GT will be a strict two-seat car when it goes on sale later this year. And we wouldn't be too surprised if a convertible version was in the pipeline.

Dave Humphreys - 28 Apr 2014