Mercedes SLS AMG

IF our trophy was to be awarded purely on looks alone, the SLS would undoubtedly be the clear winner.

Those gullwing doors make the Mercedes one of the most attention-grabbing machines we have ever tested.

But the really good news for fans of hot Mercs is that the SLS delivers from behind the wheel, too. All the usual AMG attributes are there in abundance, as the manufacturer’s performance flagship has a 563bhp V8 engine that produces 650Nm of torque.

The powerplant provides serious muscle and a soundtrack to match – even at low speeds it is bursting with character as the exhaust pops and bangs on the overrun.

Up the pace and the SLS displays real talent beyond sheer brute force. Just like the E63 AMG saloon, its polished handling delivers superb accuracy and poise that goes against its hairy-chested demeanour. The result is a supercar that combines the dynamic accuracy of a sniper’s rifle with the explosive power of a blunderbuss. On track it doesn’t have the ultimate agility of the Ferrari 458 Italia or the Audi R8, and it lacks these machines’ rock-solid body control, but the big Mercedes turns into corners with real vigour and generates serious grip.

Turn off the electronic driver aids and you can easily push out the tail when exiting slow corners, yet you need quick reactions to catch it, and holding long slides isn’t this car’s forte. Instead, it rewards a more precise and sensible
approach with astonishing pace – it lapped the Anglesey track only half-a-second slower than the Ferrari.

Those novel doors and the SLS’s famous ancestry are likely to grab most of the headlines, but there is so much more to the newcomer than meets the eye. And given the outstanding quality of the two cars which lie ahead
of it in our final standings, third place for the mighty Mercedes is an undeniably fantastic result.