2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG: First Drive
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2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
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It's more than a half-century of progress by any measure: Ferrari's in its seventh decade, and the Corvette's well into its sixth. The Italian carmaker's uncorked a California vintage to celebrate, while Chevy's cheering its very survival with the most powerful 'Vette ever.
It's only right in this retro-tinged year--everyone's fondly recalling the good old days, even if they were as recent as September of 2008--that Mercedes-Benz is ready to ride the nostalgic wave with a new gullwing coupe, the 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
The successor to the legendary Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing from the 1950s, and a de facto replacement for the SLR, the SLS opened its north-south doors for the first time in production form today. MotorAuthority joined up with Mercedes-Benz in Monterey and Laguna Seca for the worldwide press launch crack at the revived gullwing, which has sprung from concept to reality in three years.
Though it follows on the cooled heels of the SLR, the new SLS AMG has been designed from scratch, says AMG chief Volker Mornhinweg, and it's not based on any other Mercedes-Benz vehicles. It's the first car developed by the in-house tuners from Affalterbach, and while Mercedes builds the new two-seat coupe in a mainstream Benz factory in Sindelfingen, the heart of the SLS--the powertrain--still is assembed in Affalterbach, each drivetrain shepherded by a single assembler, from start to finish.
That AMG tradition is just the newest touchstone tapped by the engineers in charge of the SLS. Philosophically it remains true to the original in a few definitive ways: it's still rear-wheel drive, it's still built on an aluminum chassis, and then, of course, there are the doors, its calling card. In almost all other ways, it's been transmogrified into a $200,000 supercar with few concessions to anything but power and traction.
It's a bridge between the starter-exotic ranks of the Corvette ZR1 and Viper, and thin-air lust objects like the insanely capable Porsche 911 Turbo. Or, to stuntware like the expensive, non-brand-correlative Lexus LFA. And, of course, it's the new gullwing--even the non-car-people guests at the Ritz-Carlton recognized it so.
But is it a piece of Mercedes history up to the epic moment of the original 300 SL? After a day of motoring around the Monterey Peninsula, one thing is clear.
The new gullwing has far more to it than wings.
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SuperSkyline89 Posted: 9/25/2007 10:50am PDT
Tony Avila Posted: 9/25/2007 1:26pm PDT
SaN P Posted: 9/25/2007 2:46pm PDT
JIt Posted: 9/25/2007 3:03pm PDT
The Black series SL looks brillliant though
JIt Posted: 9/25/2007 3:03pm PDT
Gus Posted: 9/25/2007 6:42pm PDT
HECTOR Posted: 9/25/2007 6:48pm PDT
Steve Posted: 9/25/2007 7:38pm PDT
GAVEN ELLIOTT Posted: 9/25/2007 8:06pm PDT
johnnyBoy Posted: 9/27/2007 1:56am PDT
Craig S Posted: 10/1/2007 7:21am PDT
Marc Posted: 10/1/2007 5:10pm PDT
...very hot but where is the Mercedes soul??? they are losing creativity.
addy Posted: 10/2/2007 3:05am PDT
marco Posted: 10/3/2007 5:18pm PDT
the cars of the past are BY FAR the best looking cars and they are REAL cars.
stop giving us wimpy ridicolous so called "modern" cars and give back us the REAL thing!
Chris Posted: 10/3/2007 5:27pm PDT
FOX Posted: 10/4/2007 12:00pm PDT
Oswald Posted: 10/7/2007 1:28pm PDT
benz Posted: 1/16/2008 10:23am PST
nigel Posted: 4/14/2008 8:56am PDT
chris Posted: 4/14/2008 9:41am PDT
Strada Auto Store Posted: 4/14/2008 2:06pm PDT
ohmy Posted: 4/14/2008 2:17pm PDT
=D
Gus Posted: 4/14/2008 4:59pm PDT
Gus Posted: 4/14/2008 4:59pm PDT
Wizards Lore Posted: 4/14/2008 6:42pm PDT
Make it on the platform of the new car and not the outgoing one. I for one love the shape and would deffo want one, but they need to make this cutting edge tech and not next years knock off
AUDI S5 Posted: 4/28/2008 12:13pm PDT
Have you seen the 'new' CLC? It is a joke i tell ya! Just by slapping on together the front and rear of different cars does not a new model make.
MB has had its day, but the future belongs to the VW Audi group and BMW as they are always pushing progressively forward, pushing the envelope with chassis technology, drivetrain and brilliant engines.
gazzed Posted: 9/8/2009 6:20pm PDT
Vinzer Posted: 9/8/2009 6:30pm PDT
Alister Posted: 9/8/2009 8:02pm PDT
I mean seriously why bother! If your going to make a supercar make it, oh I don't know, super?
Gumbo Posted: 9/9/2009 5:00am PDT
ashwats Posted: 9/9/2009 9:59am PDT
bepsf Posted: 9/9/2009 10:30am PDT
...and I agree w/ the others - appears that the B-Pillar of this thing was a design afterthought.
HECTOR Posted: 9/9/2009 4:04pm PDT
I like it that the HP remain below 600. However, the SLR was still a prettier car, inside and out.
Wizards Lore Posted: 9/9/2009 6:10pm PDT
Sam Posted: 9/9/2009 6:34pm PDT
NoNameDenton Posted: 9/9/2009 8:16pm PDT
NoNameDenton Posted: 9/11/2009 12:06am PDT
Tigersworld Posted: 10/29/2009 9:18am PDT
Bill Posted: 10/29/2009 9:55am PDT
MaxBob Posted: 10/29/2009 9:56am PDT
All I see is a reposting of an article and the announcement that that Mercedes will launch a press event on the car.
Great journalism
My Wheels On Walls Posted: 10/29/2009 11:04am PDT
I got the above when I click on the link. If this was a Ford Festiva we most likely would'nt give a shit. But this is a supercar coming from the split of Mclaren and Merc after the unsucessful SLR.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CREATING FANFARE AND FALSE ADVERTISING!!!!! How about we learn the difference.... please....
Changing a title on the Web means breaking a URL--something we'd rather not do.
Also: language, please. The children can hear you.
My Wheels On Walls Posted: 10/29/2009 8:38pm PDT
Also I have a question. How do you spread Editorial word? Answer: You advertise!!!! I can understand not wanting to break a URL and makes perfect sense. Keep up the good work as the site is clearly moving forward.
bepsf Posted: 11/3/2009 9:58am PST
I'm also unimpressed w/ the gimmicky gullwing doors - The originals were created for the very reason that the 300SLR tubular chassis/frame was so high that standard doors were awkward - so the gullwing doors were a solution to an engineering problem - These are all show.
Finally, the rear quarter is awfully clunky with that huge B-Pillar - where's the quarter window of the original? Certainly 50 years later, MBZ can use high-strength steels to maintain high roof rigidity and allow for near 360-degree views?
Color me unimpressed.
Luke Posted: 11/4/2009 3:15am PST
magnesium Posted: 11/25/2009 3:19am PST
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