Spyshots: 2012 Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster

Just when you thought excitement couldn't get any higher, the Germans from Mercedes Benz are getting ready to launch yet another SLS AMG bomb onto the heads of the unsuspecting audience. And in the gallery below you'll find the proof.

Having tasted perhaps a much sweeter success than expected with the SLS AMG gullwing, Mercedes decided, with summer a few months away and all, it would be time for the supercar to get a sister. Or brother, depending on your view...

Expected to be launched sometime this year, or in the first few months of 2012 at the latest (the car is already late, as last year most expected it to debut at the Paris Auto Show; the Geneva Auto Show in March is now the best bet for the first presentation of the model), the open-top supercar will be quite a site for sour eyes.

Using, according to the information available, a soft top, in order to keep the weight numbers down (sources say the car's top will be similar to the one used on the SLR), the car will bring no major changes under the hood or body.

The SLS cabrio will use the same 6.2l V8 engine tweaked by AMG, which in the gullwing version develops 571 horsepower at 6,800 rpm and a maximum torque of 650 Nm at 4,750 rpm. The unit will be paired to a AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed dual clutch sports transmission.

The performance figures achieved on the coupe (naught to sixty in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 197 mph/317 km/h) will likely not get any better.

❐ Check out the Spyshots: 2012 Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster photo gallery