Porsche does things backwards by putting the engine at the back, so Mercedes has flipped the script and is putting its lump at the front. According to an Autocar report, development of the baby-SLS is well underway and the car will sport a V8 engine.
Scheduled for a market arrival in 2014 at a projected price of £75,000 ($120,000 at the current exchange rate), the two-door coupe will also be conceived in a joint exercise between Mercedes-Benz’s regular passenger car department and its performance car division, AMG.
There is even a fabric-roofed roadster coming in 2016, in a move that mirrors what Merc’ is doing with the SLS. The one major concern is the market overlap with the SLK, which also sports a V8 in its range-topping version.
“Mercedes-Benz has no history of mid-engined road cars,” said an insider. “We have occasionally toyed with the idea in various concept cars. But when you look back, the company is defined by its front-engined sports cars, such as the original SL.”
One of the key rivals for the SLC will be the new Porsche 911. Members of the AMG engineering team involved in the early development strategy describe the 911 Carrera S as being an dynamic benchmark. But they have also pointed at the Aston Martin V8 Vantage as being among the group of competitors.
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