Pista-STO- 765LT- AMG Black series

Just gorgeous! Congrats again!

 

Drooling over your car - looks fantastic !!!

MDS

 

The answer is more than one.
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Love that blue.. so nice!

 

Have you had a chance a play at all with your new ride or did I miss you posting about it?

MDS

 

I’ve not posted my reactions yet, at least not on this board.

Here was my early reaction originally posted on Feb 5th…

So I took delivery and drove it 20 miles to the PPF shop. I never really went much over 4000 rpms, and obviously it was way too short a drive to gather many firm reactions. I have some quick basic feedback regarding the Performante comparison.

Exhaust Note - It’s much different both in sound quality and volume. I had a very early production Perf and the exhaust changed on later versions of the car. It was bananas. Very loud, with tons of pops and crackles. Some people characterized the sound as artificial. I really like it because it was very different from every other car. Fast forward to the STO, the pops/crackles have been largely removed, and the volume is way down. To my ear, even with the Forza exhaust controller forcing the valves open, between 1500 and 4000 rpms (remember I never gave it full beans) it‘s not nearly as loud as the Perf. The sound quality is a little different too. I am sure that once I am able to truly get after it, I will be more than satisfied with the exhaust note, but in the early going, it’s much different. By the way, I definitely think the Forza is ”must have” addition.

DCT - I found the shifting to be much smoother, and more refined. Again, this will no doubt change as I move into more aggressive driving, but I suppose this is to be expected with a 5 year newer version of the transmission.

Stiffer - Not that the Perf road like a Cadillac, but the STO is clearly wound tighter. Maybe not quite as tight as my 765LT, but tighter nonetheless. I really like that it’s much stiffer. To me it adds to the drama. It’s stiff enough to probably disqualify it as a daily, never mind the visibility.

Appearance - In the flesh, I like it much better than the Perf, and I loved the Perf. It undeniably looks more purposeful and aggressive.

Tires - I’m a little nervous about the Bridgestone‘s. It was 40 degrees this morning, so I was not going to do anything stupid. I’ll save that for another day.

Sport Seats - I certainly have more headroom in the STO Sport Seats versus the Performante Comfort Seats, but they are definitely way less comfortable. Again, I am really large at 6’6” 260lbs so YMMV.

In the end, I gained enough info on the short drive to know that I will be more than satisfied with car, and I will likely end up preferring the total STO package over my beloved Perf. It’s definitely different in countless ways.

And then my follow up posted on March 14….

So I’m kind of embarrassed. I have not yet had a chance for a legitimate driving session. Just a couple quick hot laps inside the city limits. The weather has been wet and cold. Fortunately the weather is improving rapidly, so I hope to better explore the car this week or next. My initial impressions seem durable though. If someone had never owned a Performante before AND they equipped the car with the Forza from the very beginning, they would probably think the STO to be properly savage. However, for someone who owned a Performante, there’s simply no hiding the fact that the STO falls well short sonically. That‘s simply indisputable. That said, the STO eclipses the Performante in every other meaningful category including the most important one…how it drives.

And here are my fresh thoughts from right now….

Regrettably I still haven’t much seat time. I do walk past the car a couple times a day and marvel at the good looks. I really love how much more of an aggressive posture it presents. And I am thrilled that I decided to go back with the same color as my previous Performante….Rosso Mars. I consider that to be the absolute best red of any of the various cars in its class. I’ll keep everyone posted when I finally give it a proper thrashing. I wish I had more to report, but I have serious first world problems, 6 super fun cars and, lately, no time to drive them.

 

great write up. I like that you rate the car better in every metric over the perf except for sound. After reading your review with updates, I’m curious to know why you haven’t driven it more? Is it weather, lack of time, or do you just reach for a different set of key? IMO, sto is absolutely stunning to look at and the particular shade of red you chose is sublime.

 

Fair question. The car took forever for the PPF to be installed. It’s the 6th car my installer has done for me. He told me that he thought my 765LT and Viper ACR were tough, but the STO was even tougher. Once I finally had it in my possession, I had some available time to drive, but the weather was cold and wet. Once the weather turned, I found myself super busy with work, wife, and kids. It’s been a bad run. That said, I hope to get some quality seat time on Sunday.

 

Makes sense. I don’t have quite as many cars as you do, but for similar reasons I’ve not driven mine as much as I should either. I too have a shop that has done several ppf on my cars and they told me this one was the worst. They had to use an extra large size of ppf because I didn’t want any cuts or seams that would show. They used different types of ppf on the black trim to give it a better luster and they took a very long time with it to boot. I’ve been out of town as well. I had a FCA Ferrari drive today, Porsche drive/breakfast in the morning and on Sunday, I am hoping to get the sto out to stretch its legs. Hope the weather clears up for you and you get to enjoy it a bit.

 

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Had an opportunity to stretch her legs this morning through the canyons and ran into a cars and coffee. Lots of really amazing cars today and I saw this incredible pista spider. I want to say Bianco Fuji with blue carbon fiber
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Damn lucky to get it at MSRP!


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Same here. Wife took it over as her daily. 765 LTS is still a year away for me


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Cool set up! What kind of lift is that?

 

Update: Received my STO - it’s in the shop for ppf/tints/ceramic, so haven’t driven it yet. Looks are insane so happy with my color choice of Arancio Xanto. Added Akrapovic exhaust from factory.
Also a week later got my 765LT Spider (#504) in MSO Ludus Blue that I was able to drive for 15-20 min in traffic so not much fun yet lol. Both will be ready to go in 2-3 weeks right in time for good weather here in NY. Next week I’ll keep the fun going by picking up my SRT Challenger Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak (TorRed)

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So spent 2 weeks with my STO (2200kms) and I got to say its absolutely a phenomenal car. Other than ZERO and I mean ZERO luggage space the car ticks every box for me. Its stunning to look at, has turn-in which I have never experienced before i.e that sharp and sounds incredible. The RWD contributes to the over-all feel of lightness and its like a go-kart in the way it handles corners. IMO the best of NA in one great package. BTW: If you dont want attention or dont like attention, dont get an STO...

One really needs a 765, STO, 2RS and Pista - Haven't driven an AMG BS so cant comment.

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Agreed on all levels, but you forgot the bodacious 'rear view'. I'm finding the STO to be an acquired taste, especially when compared to a Ferrari. The conundrum: This car begs to be tracked - dare we???

P. S. No more STO rides for the wife as it feels too claustrophobic for her. And she finally flipped out when it came time to exit the car and discovered the, ahem, door opener. Can't please them all, I say.

 

- Will be tracking the car when convenient so we can compare notes. And yes agree on the wife issue - mine not being a car person and luckily she couldn't care less - so more seat time for me to mis-behave

 

Pourquoi?

Is it just for the updated Artura-esqu interior and infotainment?

It sits below the 765LT, right?

You gonna keep both? 750 and 765LT?

Oh, and the car looks fantastic. Well done, sir.

 

Congrats looks awesome!

 

Congrats, I love the color combo. Which exterior paint is that?