2010 Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Photos Leaked

Perhaps one of the most advertised vehicles in the Mercedes stable, the SLS AMG, has finally got rid of its ugly disguise in a batch of leaked photos, prior to its official entry at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. And what a sight it is...

The SLS AMG, which will be offered for some 177,300 euros in Germany, comes equipped with an AMG 6.2l V8 powerplant that generates 571 horsepower (420 kW) at 6800 rpm and a maximum torque of 650 Nm at 4,750 rpm. It propels the gull-wing from naught to sixty in 3.8 seconds, with maximum speed going as high as 315 km/h (195 mph).

The photos, posted by CarPoint, present the SLS in two of its several available color choices for the body, which include Alubeam Silver, Syvanite Grey, Alanite Grey and a not-so-often-seen color for a Merc: red.

On the inside, the SLS will combine "lightweight construction with dynamism and high emotional appeal." Access to the interior is done via gull-wing doors, to reveal an “aviation engineering” design theme on the wing-shaped dashboard. The center console is designed in "the style of a jet’s operating console", with four jet-engine-like air vents sticking out of the dashboard.

Production of the SLS will begin later this year, with a roadster version to follow as soon as next year and, perhaps even more exciting, an electric drive version, similar in performance with the 6.2l V8 one, expected to come in the near future.

autoevolution will be attending the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, so stay tuned for some real up close and personal shots of the vehicles, as well as for first-hand details of the motorized contraptions.