Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing Sells for AU$464,000 in Oz

As the Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing didn't even hit Australian shores, the local division of the German manufacturer announced the sports car will retail for AU$464,000 locally. The car is expected in Oz this August, when Mercedes says will deliver more than forty of them to customers.

“The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has been extremely well received by our customers in Australia with more than forty orders already locked in,” Horst von Sanden, Mercedes-Benz Cars Austraia managing director said.

“Even in advance of the actual market launch, orders have considerably exceeded our expectations. This shows that the exciting design and extraordinary concept of our gullwing model precisely meet the taste and aspirations of potential customers."

Unfortunately for Australian buyers, some of them might have to wait much longer to get their hands on one.

“Given the impressive demand we are experiencing for this special car our stock allocation for 2010 could well be insufficient,” von Sanden added.

The model 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 gullwing from naught to sixty in 3.8 seconds, with maximum speed going as high as 315 km/h (195 mph).

A new AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed sports transmission takes care of power transfer. The dual-clutch transmission offers the driver a choice of four different driving modes: "C" (Controlled Efficiency), "S" (Sport), "S+" (Sport plus) or "M" (Manual) along with a RACESTART function.