Photo: S.Baldauf/SB-Medien
As of right now, you can no longer order and customize a Mercedes-Benz SL roadster from any dealership, unless it’s an already built model that is in stock.
Ask any Mercedes-Benz person to tell you why and you will probably get this awesome reply: "the SL is dead, long live the SL!"
The seventh generation of the legendary roadster is less than a year away from its official unveiling, and pre-production prototypes have already started to shed some of their heavy camouflage.
Developed entirely by Mercedes-AMG this time, the 2022 Mercedes-AMG SL will be based on the same platform as the next-generation GT, which will lose its aluminum spaceframe in favor of a more traditional one developed for the two sports cars.
While the SL will still stick to its more old-school grand touring feel and offer a traditional soft top for the first time in over two decades, the Mercedes-AMG GT will keep to the sportier side of the same coin.
The SL engine range will consist of electrified inline-fours, inline-sixes, and at least two V8s, one of which is expected to deliver over 800 horsepower thanks to a revolutionary hybrid system.
So far, the only pre-production prototypes spied on the road seem to be the SL 43/53 and the SL 63, with the mighty SL 73 and its hybrid V8 still in development behind closed doors.
Despite the camouflage wrap, you can differentiate the SL 43/53 models from their SL 63 bigger brother by at least two details. The V8 model has rectangular exhaust outlets and an automatic spoiler on the trunk lid, while the less powerful versions use round tailpipes and lack a rising spoiler at the rear.
The differences in performance will be colossal, though, especially when comparing the lower end of the lineup with the SL 63 and SL 73, which will both get an AMG-developed all-wheel-drive system with Drift Mode as standard.
The 0-100 kph (62 mph) acceleration times will spread from low 5 seconds to under 3 seconds for the top of the range version, which should be something else altogether.
The seventh generation of the legendary roadster is less than a year away from its official unveiling, and pre-production prototypes have already started to shed some of their heavy camouflage.
Developed entirely by Mercedes-AMG this time, the 2022 Mercedes-AMG SL will be based on the same platform as the next-generation GT, which will lose its aluminum spaceframe in favor of a more traditional one developed for the two sports cars.
While the SL will still stick to its more old-school grand touring feel and offer a traditional soft top for the first time in over two decades, the Mercedes-AMG GT will keep to the sportier side of the same coin.
The SL engine range will consist of electrified inline-fours, inline-sixes, and at least two V8s, one of which is expected to deliver over 800 horsepower thanks to a revolutionary hybrid system.
So far, the only pre-production prototypes spied on the road seem to be the SL 43/53 and the SL 63, with the mighty SL 73 and its hybrid V8 still in development behind closed doors.
Despite the camouflage wrap, you can differentiate the SL 43/53 models from their SL 63 bigger brother by at least two details. The V8 model has rectangular exhaust outlets and an automatic spoiler on the trunk lid, while the less powerful versions use round tailpipes and lack a rising spoiler at the rear.
The differences in performance will be colossal, though, especially when comparing the lower end of the lineup with the SL 63 and SL 73, which will both get an AMG-developed all-wheel-drive system with Drift Mode as standard.
The 0-100 kph (62 mph) acceleration times will spread from low 5 seconds to under 3 seconds for the top of the range version, which should be something else altogether.
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