Mercedes-AMG Emotion Tour: Cars, planes and watches in one awesome experience
Ever heard the rumble of more than 20 AMGs going past you at full pelt? That thundering orchestra was the soundtrack that scored the first AMG Emotion Tour of 2022. Our city of choice this time was Delhi, and with a cavalcade of 24 AMGs, we would be taking AMG owners and prospects for an epic weekend road trip, all the way from the AMG Performance Centre in Delhi to the petrolhead haven that is Rajasthan. The participants would also be treated to curated experiences, exclusive to AMG owners, over the course of an action-packed weekend.
24 AMGs and over 10,000bhp!
The AMG Emotion Tour kicked off from T&T Motors, which is the AMG Performance Centre in Delhi and is also one of the oldest and largest Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the country. Now we’re no strangers to fast cars, but since our lineup consisted of 24 AMGs, right from the baby A 35 all the way to the mighty AMG GT – we definitely felt like kids in a candy store at the sight of the cars lined up together! We were also joined by the owners of these magnificent machines along with AMG prospects, and once we went through the driver’s briefing, our cavalcade was flagged off from the AMG Performance Centre at half past eight in the morning.
AMGs on India’s best driving roads
Our first stop on the AMG Emotion Tour was the airfield of Narnaul. This isn’t a particularly long drive with Narnaul just being 220 clicks away, but NH 8 continues to be a particularly busy stretch with unruly truckies all through. Get off the main highway though and you discover the hidden gem of a road, the NH 148 B heading towards Narnaul. This is a beautiful road, devoid of traffic and beautifully surfaced, so new that Google Maps hasn’t even mapped it properly yet. We thunder past this piece of stretch of tarmac in our AMGs, and with the matte black G63 leading our cavalcade, the roar would probably be heard in Affalterbach. There is a long standing myth that India just doesn’t have the roads to enjoy fast cars, one we’ve proven wrong time and again, and the participants got to truly experience the Thrill of Driving in their AMGs.
High-flying at Narnaul
Once the AMG Emotion Tour reached Narnaul, the level of activity would be electric. The participants would be treated to not one but a choice of three unique experiences. First off was the cockpit experience, where the participants were taken for a short flight in a Cessna aircraft. Unlike a commercial airliner which gets you to places thick and fast, the flight in the Cessna allowed the participants to savour the views from a lower height, taking in the sights at leisure. “It was excellent and amazing,” says Tanuj Katharia after the flight in the Cessna.
“It was out of expected, what we have done with this plane,” added Nishit Billa, having seen the capabilities of the aircraft. They also got to see the pilot in action when flying the aircraft, a first-time experience for most guests. Hridhaan Bhalla referred to the flight as “too good to be true!”. Talking about the action in the air, Paddy Mandilya says, “The acrobatics in the air were unbelievable!” It was Ankit Aggarwal’s first time flying in a Cessna and he said,“The experience was really amazing.” Neha Dewan said that “The adrenaline rush you experience that time, it was a very good experience”. Her brother Karan adds excitedly that “It was our first time in the cockpit!"
AMG customers are used to the performance that their machines offer, but the cockpit experience continued to enthral them to no end. “With the AMG experience, the G forces were something that I was expecting and I think AMG delivered,” says Gaurav Gulati about the AMG Emotion Tour. Ankit Aggarwal, who drives a souped-up GLE 53 AMG said “I’ve sat in a chopper but this thing is something else!”. Even Santosh Iyyer, the VP of sales and marketing referred to the flight in the Cessna as “fabulous”! The duo of Raminder and Navdeep Singh still felt that driving an AMG was better. “That is something in our control, this is not,” stated the duo who are hardcore fans of the AMG lineup.
Making time
It just so happens that most car enthusiasts also tend to be watch enthusiasts, and quite fittingly, we had the participants of the AMG Emotion Tour sample some of the beautifully crafted pilot’s timepieces from IWC Watches, flown in specially from Schaffhausen. Taking the love for watches a step further, IWC also conducted a watchmaking masterclass in association with Kapoor Watch Company for the participants of the AMG Emotion Tour.
“Though we are doctors and we’re used to this, such fine intricate dismantling and assembling was a different experience, '' says Dr. Prabha Aggarwal about her experience of the watchmaking workshop. “It’s the first time I realised how much it takes to make one,” says AMG customer Ravi Tangudu about his watchmaking experience. Even Santosh Iyer, the VP of sales and marketing for Mercedes-Benz India couldn’t resist trying his hand at crafting an intricate timepiece during the workshop.
Pedal to the metal
But when all is said and done, AMGs are a byword for performance and driving thrills, and we just had to showcase the true potential of these immensely capable AMGs on the runway that we had on hand at Narnaul. We set up a slalom course for the guests, where they would be required to weave between the cones that we had placed. To keep things interesting, we also whipped out the stopwatches, and the participants were soon in a bid to post fast times on the slalom. The A 35 took all of the #FullSend action without breaking a sweat, and with the participants getting more familiar with the course after each run, there was no doubt that they were enjoying the adrenaline rush that an AMG offers. “Driving an AMG feels better, even though flying in a plane is also good” chuckles Deepak Khandelwal.
In the lap of luxury
Once the sun went down, we hotfooted it in our AMGs from Narnaul towards Bishangarh, where the luxurious environs of the Alila Fort Bishangarh awaited us. Driving after a dark is a theatrical experience of sorts in an AMG, or any new Mercedes for that matter, especially with the ambient lighting livening up the cabin and making you feel like you are sitting in a lounge. Such small attention to detail goes a long way in making the AMG driving experience a special one, and the drive to the Alila Fort in our AMGs only set the stage for grandeur that the resort had to offer. Treated to good food and lovely music, the participants of the AMG Emotion Tour thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the lap of luxury. A few owners also explained that this is why they love being in the AMG fold, as they enjoy such uniquely curated experiences that the brand organises. “It was a very nice experience,” says Rusheil Katyal about the AMG Emotion Tour.” Paramjit Singh said,“It was a lovely experience and I highly recommend it.” Having sampled the AMG Emotion Tour, Varun Aggarwal says that, “This was one of the best experiences I’ve had till now!”
As for our team, we couldn’t help but think back at what a mad rush the day had been, right from experiencing the AMGs on the highways to the array of activities at Narnaul, right down to the sundowner at Alila. And then there were the cars themselves. The parking lot at the Alila filled with our cavalcade of AMGs simply had us in awe. Even though we knew it was the end of this edition of the AMG Emotion Tour, we weren’t sad about the conclusion. We still had the drive back to Delhi on some of the best black top that the country has to offer. And behind the wheel of these German thrill machines, we were raring to relish every bit of it.
