Classic pearls of the future - Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
01/23/2019
Mercedes-Benz thrilled visitors to the IAA in Frankfurt in the fall of 2009 with a late successor to the legendary 300 SL Gullwing. Like its predecessor, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG had a tubular frame, a powerful engine at the front and powered rear wheels. And its doors opened upwards just as the 300 SL had done in the early 1950s.
Otherwise, the modern SLS naturally moved with the times and had a 6.2-liter V8 engine behind the front axle instead of an in-line six-cylinder engine. The gearbox was a transaxle seven-speed DSG from Getrag. Naturally, all four wheels were individually suspended.
The body was made of aluminum and was manufactured by Magna Steyr. There was room for two people and a usable trunk. There was plenty of luxury on board, including a reversing camera, air conditioning, navigation system and music system.
Despite the focus on lightweight construction (SLS is said to have stood for Sport-Leicht-Super), the SLS AMG weighed over 1.6 tons, but with 571 hp from 6208 cm3 it also offered enough power to accelerate the sports car from 0 to 100 km/h in just over 3.5 seconds. Later versions - the SLS AMG was built until 2014 - even had a few more horsepower under the hood. And if you wanted to get going quickly, you could fall back on "Race Start" launch control.
The SLS AMG, which was developed entirely by AMG, cost from EUR 186,830 when it went on sale in the fall of 2010. As in the 1950s, the coupé was also accompanied by a roadster. Around 6500 units of the SLS are said to have been sold in around five years of production, although exact figures are not known. As in the 1950s, a significant proportion of production went to the United States.
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG may not quite have been able to match the refined elegance of its predecessor, the 300 SL, but it was certainly an attractive and eye-catching vehicle, as evidenced by the good sales in the first two years. Nevertheless, it was only built for a comparatively short time, and the successor had conventional door openings again, which did not require explosive charges in order to be able to open the doors even after a rollover.
Incidentally, there was also a purely electric version of the SLS. And the performance? Similar to the BMW Z8, prices have so far remained at a high level, with special editions even trading above the original price at the time. A clear indication of a classic pearl.
