Having officially broken cover last year, the new-generation SL is now the work of Mercedes-AMG. It still is a roadster, gunning for the likes of the open-top Porsche 911s, albeit with a rag top over the passenger compartment that can now sit four, in a 2+2 configuration.
Since it’s not exactly feasible anymore to have a sports car based on a bespoke chassis, the Affalterbach brand will use the same underpinnings for the next-generation Mercedes-AMG GT. The two models will be differentiated by a few styling tweaks, and the GT will be offered as a coupe solely.
Thus, if you ever wondered what the new SL would have looked like with a fixed roof, then all you have to do is wait for the 2023 GT to break cover. Well, that and maybe check out the occasional renderings that portray it as a two-door coupe, like the latest that have theottle behind them.
Save for the roofline that follows the exact same styling of the soft top, despite having been lifted from the current GT, and the fact that it has a slightly more generous luggage compartment, as the roof doesn’t fold down at the push of a button anymore, it looks identical to the real SL. This includes the styling of the front and rear ends, wheels, and even the cockpit layout. But hey, no one said it’s something else, right?
In the power department, the new SL uses a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8, making 469 hp and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque in the 55 version, and 577 hp and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) in the 63. The latter does the 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) in 3.6 seconds, three tenths of a second faster than the former, yet since a closed-top variant of the car would be lighter, it would be a bit quicker, so expect the upcoming GT to be even more agile.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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