Mercedes SLS AMG

By Dan Strong

November 2009

• Rating:

	If the SLS’s scorching performance doesn’t do it, the fact that it will be less than half the SLR’s price tag certainly will.

The Gullwing is back. It may have taken 55 years for one of most emotive cars in Mercedes history to make a return to showrooms, but the new SLS AMG is out to prove to Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche that membership of the supercar club is about to become one bigger.

In fact, Mercedes has a lot to prove with this new SLS. It wants to show that its sporting AMG branch can produce a decent supercar to rival the best in the business and can do more than produce sporting versions of the mainstream saloon range. It’s also keen to get one over on F1 manufacturers McLaren (who will also join the supercar ranks with the MP4-12C in 2011) after the difficult partnership that produced the SLR – a car that promised much but ultimately failed to deliver the sum of its parts.

The reality is that this car is sure to be far more successful than the SLR ever was, both in terms of sales and critical acclaim. If the SLS’s scorching performance and head-turning looks (including those doors) don’t do it, the fact that at around £150,000 it will be less than half the SLR’s price tag certainly will. And that’s before you’ve even got to the soft-top convertible version likely for 2011 or the fully-electric model coming in 2013. Make no mistake, Mercedes doesn’t just want to join its rivals in the supercar club, it wants to go all out to beat them at their own game.

Certainly the 563bhp 6.2-litre V8 engine, heavily developed from AMG’s existing V8, won’t hinder that cause. The all-aluminium bodyshell helps the SLS to tip the scales at just 1620kg (some 110kgs lighter than a Ferrari California) enabling it to achieve a 0 to 62mph time of just 3.8 seconds and onto a limited top speed of 197mph. Fuel economy and emissions aren’t bad given that performance either with an 18.8mpg average and 308g/km respectively.

How do those figures translate out on the road? Staggeringly well is the answer. Everything that was right about the SLR is here, the lightning fast acceleration in virtually any gear at any point in the rev range, the delicate throttle pedal allowing you to balance the car perfectly on winding roads.

>>WATCH THE SLS FLAT-OUT ON TRACK HERE

Where the SLR felt heavy and ponderous, the SLS feels lithe, controllable and, most importantly, precise, its dimensions shrinking around you with familiarity, despite your initial impressions of that long bonnet ahead. Even better is that the sharp steering and supportive seat provide plenty of feedback, giving you loads of confidence to press on. Even mid-corner bumps that would throw many of its rivals off-line aren’t a problem for the SLS, the supple suspension just soaking it up and sending you on your way.

It’s a similar story for the double-clutch seven-speed Speedshift gearbox which responds immediately via the steering wheel paddles and with little fuss. All this while the V8 engine provides a fantastic soundtrack in the background, together with popping and cracking on the over-run – you’ll need to have a Ferrari badge on the bonnet before you find a V8 engine that sounds better than this.

And what about those doors? They’re unashamedly a crowd-pleaser, but the reality is that they actually work surprisingly well. The reach up to pull them shut isn’t as far as you think and while headroom is a little tight for anyone much over 6-feet tall (the optional sports seats actually sit a little lower for improved space), the cabin is otherwise cosy and well screwed together – even if there is a lack of storage space accessible on the move.

Mercedes claims that the SLS isn’t a successor for the SLR or the 1950s Gullwing and it’s right - it’s better than both of them. At a time when budgets are meant to be tight, the fact that a £150,000 car can boast a year’s waiting list some eight months before it even goes on sale, suggests that after a 55 year absence, Mercedes has got it right. Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche should be worried. Very worried.

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