Mercedes is established to pull the wraps off the all-new AMG-developed SL roadster on 28 October.
The new best-flight grand tourer is established to be the very first SL made by the brand’s AMG effectiveness division. It will be presented with 4-wheel push, a stiffer entire body construction and, most likely, a thumping 800bhp electrified powertrain.
We’ve already spied a pre-output instance of the new SL forward of the formal release, revealing a layout with obvious AMG affect. Acquainted attributes contain the very same Panamericana radiator grille as the Mercedes-AMG GT and the company’s trademark square exhausts, which are identified on everything from the E sixty three saloon to the GLS sixty three SUV.
The prior SL’s very long bonnet and somewhat brief tail is a layout concept that proceeds in the new car, while Mercedes has ditched the prior model’s folding metal hardtop for a new material roof, which ought to help you save a number of kilos.
Mercedes has also teased the new SL’s cabin. It will acquire a equivalent infotainment established-up to the Mercedes-AMG GT, with a 12.three-inch digital instrument panel forward of the driver and an 11.nine-inch infotainment procedure in the centre of the dashboard.
To prevent glare from the solar getting a distraction when the roof is down, the instrument cluster has its personal visor, though the angle of the infotainment screen can be electrically adjusted to a extra vertical situation.
An optional head-up show can display information and facts in three dimensions on the screen in a selection of variations that can match the structure of the configurable views proven on the car’s principal screen. The car’s audio procedure comes from very long-time companion Burmester.
Mercedes has dubbed the SL’s inside notion the “hyperanalogue” cockpit, declaring it can take inspiration from the initial three hundred SL Roadster of the nineteen fifties. The business describes the notion as a blend of “analogue geometry and digital function.”
The seats are designed in this kind of a way that they show up extra compact, and have headrests built-in into the backrests for a sleeker glance. They can be trimmed in a selection of finishes, like two-tone nappa leather-based, nappa leather-based with diamond stitching, or a mixture of nappa and Dinamica material.
Mercedes layout boss Gorden Wagener claimed: “This roadster has stood for automotive fascination and wish for a long time, and represents a fantastic option and challenge for layout. The end result is a revolutionary inside knowledge caught in between digital and analogue luxurious.”
Mercedes also states the new SL will be extra flexible than its predecessor. It is the very first SL considering that the R129, introduced in 1989, to have a 2+2 seating structure – and those people rear seats will have enough space for travellers up to 150cm tall. A wind deflector will also be obtainable to prevent buffeting at higher speeds.
Mercedes-AMG boss Philipp Schiemer claimed: “The inside of the new Mercedes-AMG SL pampers motorists and travellers with subtle luxurious. The new SL combines the optimum levels of consolation and quality in its inside, coupled with just the right quantity of sportiness.”
New 2021 Mercedes SL: engines, chassis and effectiveness
The seventh-era SL’s chassis will use a mix of aluminium, metal, magnesium and fibre composites in its development to enable preserve pounds to a bare minimum. Mercedes states the car’s central skeleton weighs just 270kg.
The manufacturer is also keen to stress that there is very little in the SL’s chassis carried above from any of its present products – not even the AMG GT Roadster. Having said that, prior AMG boss Tobias Moers hinted that the new architecture will also be applied to underpin AMG’s alternative for the GT.
The new SL’s entire body is fifty per cent extra rigid than the AMG GT Roadster across its width and 40 per cent more robust above its length. Mercedes states these enhancements will translate into extra exact handling and greater agility.
Mercedes has also lowered the SL’s centre of gravity. The pick-up details for the subframes and axles are as small down as achievable, though the motor will be mounted small, and near to the cabin.
The selection ought to open with a forty three-badged SL driven by a three.-litre straight-6 petrol device. Meanwhile, the flagship SL sixty three will most likely be driven by AMG’s twin-turbocharged four.-litre V8, giving 604bhp.
Former AMG boss Tobias Moers (now Aston Martin CEO) beforehand advised Automobile Express that AMG will glance to offer you a hybrid variation of each model Mercedes sends its way. He also hinted that the SL, as a heavier sporting activities car focused on touring, could be a organic healthy for a heavier electrified powertrain with an great ability output.
Mercedes is already producing this kind of a powertrain for the approaching selection-topping AMG S seventy three e PHEV luxurious saloon, which is established to have an output of extra than 800bhp.
New 2021 Mercedes SL: a established-up for the new AMG GT
In 2019, sporting activities autos contributed to a little bit extra than 1 percent of Mercedes’s full product sales around the world, with all around 28,four hundred autos bought. That is a rise of forty eight per cent above 2018 but, by the firm’s personal admission, the AMG GT line-up accounts for most of that, with the compact SLC roadster now banished from the line-up and the total-measurement SL dwindling in significance.
The brand’s selection to construct the new SL with AMG hinges on the shared use of a new lightweight, aluminium-intense system that will inevitably underpin the next AMG GT.
Speaking to Automobile Express in advance of his swap to Aston Martin, Moers stated how the job was producing: “The new SL is aligned with maybe the next era of GT. I believe it’s time to modify the angle of SL a minimal little bit and deliver back again a little bit of the background of this touring DNA of SL – make it sportier, and other points.”
Timeline: 6 generations of Mercedes SL
W198 (1954-sixty three): Iconic Gullwing lasted for three years in advance of Roadster changed it. Four-cylinder a hundred ninety SL was the cost-effective option.
W113 (1963-1971): ‘Pagoda’ model arrived with a detachable challenging-best. 230, 250 and 280 products all arrived with 6-cylinder engines.
R107 (1971-1989): As very well as a roadster, Mercedes generated the 4-seat SLC coupé up until 1981. This was the very first SL with a V8.
R129 (1989-2001): SL moved into the nineties with V12 ability launched for the very first time. AMG versions also show up.
R230 (2001-2011): Launched folding challenging-best roof very first seen on the SLK, as very well as adaptive entire body management and other hello-tech aids.
R231 (2012-2020): Outgoing SL was a seriously updated variation of the R230 that applied an all-aluminium entire body for the very first time.
More Stories
What Your Vehicle’s History is Telling You (& What It Isn’t)
Tips For Extending The Life Of Your Secondhand Car
‘Bullitt’ Was and Still Is Bad