Formula 1 racing has been known to have rather interesting cautions, so the FIA chose a new Safety Car for the 2018 season. In a press release this morning, Mercedes-AMG announced their AMG GT R has been chosen.This season marks the 23rd consecutive year that Mercedes-AMG has provided the safety car.
To set the pace during caution events, the new GT R is equipped with an LED strobe light bar. Instead of hacking into the gorgeous carbon fiber roof panel, a new roof was made to optimize aerodynamics around the lights. Formula 1 cars are engineered to run in a very unique set of circumstances, so the Safety Car must be fast enough to keep the brakes and tires from cooling off and to stay at a constant speed to prevent the engines from overheating.
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The 4.0-liter twin turbo V8 makes 585 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, and it can reach 62 mph in 3.6 seconds. Charlie Whiting is the FIA’s F1 director, and he said: “When a Safety Car intervention is required during a Grand Prix it’s vitally important that we have full confidence in the car’s ability to lead the Formula 1 cars around the track safely. That means we need a car which is not only capable of dealing with the extreme demands a Grand Prix circuit puts on a vehicle travelling at high speed, but also one which is capable of setting a pace that allows the F1 drivers to keep tyres and brakes working at the right kind of temperature so that they do not struggle while waiting for racing to resume. With the latest versions of the FIA F1 Medical and Safety Cars, that confidence is once again assured.”
Should an unfortunate injury happen, the Medical Car will be there in a hurry. It is a Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Wagon. It has plenty of room for first responders along with storage for a defibrillator and respirator. Watch this year’s F1 races very closely and you might catch a glimpse of these lightning fast cars. If you want to know how you can get in on the action, click on the link below to find an AMG GT R of your own.
