Panamericana Reborn: Puebla To Oaxaca In The 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Page 2

By Nelson Ireson

Nelson Ireson

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Nelson is an Editor at High Gear Media focusing on reviewing cars and covering the hottest topics in luxury and performance cars, car culture, and... More

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Mercedes SLS AMG Carrera Panamericana drive

Performance. Simply put, the SLS AMG is brilliant when pushed hard, yet still docile around town—aside from the stiff ride and close quarters in the cockpit, anyway. Exhaust and engine notes are both impressive, if a bit on the loud side for a modern Mercedes—traits that are tough to deal with when cruising the strip for image. But it’s the open, winding road where the SLS AMG really comes into its own. Switch the transmission control to manual, leave the excellent and non-intrusive traction control on and you're in for one hell of a ride.

Escorted  by the Mexican Federal Police at speeds that would otherwise be seriously extralegal, the SLS AMG dances through mountain freeway, though every nuance of the road is transmitted through the steering wheel, and the stiff suspension lets you know when the road is anything other than glass-smooth. That surfeit of communication is a good thing up to about 150 mph, where the steering feels unsettlingly light, and the near-telepathic levels of information move from just right to overload. The car tracks straight and true despite the gigabits of road data transmitted back to the driver’s hands, but the light resistance and relatively quick ratio make it seem like it’s ready to dart into a supersonic farming excursion at any moment. Of course, all you have to do is peel back to 135 mph or so, and things get a lot more comfortable.

The highlight of the trip was the two-lane, canyon section of the Puebla-Oaxaca trip, which was spent behind the wheel of the SLS and on the tail of a pair of Mercedes’ finest in a C 63 AMG. The sedan acquitted itself well, forcing some hustle out of the SLS AMG to keep up—a credit to the driver of the C 63, perhaps, more than the car—but on later questioning of the wheelman, the C 63 was being pushed to eight or nine tenths, and even to maximum in some corners, while the SLS AMG never went past seven or eight tenths even when the surface turned a bit rough.

After a quick stop for some water and a chat with the C 63 duo, we lit back out on the road, cruising at a cooler pace but still gobbling up the miles of twisting tarmac, tiny villages and picturesque valleys as we homed in on our destination of Oaxaca. Driving those roads in a gullwing Mercedes--roads largely unchanged in 50 years, through villages that look unchanged for hundreds--it’s a natural thing to envision the running of the Carrera Panamericana in its glory days, the high-silled, vulture-barred 300 SL around you, running toward the sunset all but alone, for speed, glory and the thrill of danger.

Mercedes SLS AMG Carrera Panamericana drive

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Then you snap back to reality, realize you’re just a journalist with delusions of grandeur, the Dodge Charger of the Federales running 140 mph ahead of you cutting a swath through the mountains to a waiting hotel, dinner and plenty of mezcal.

For an intensely thorough review of the SLS AMG’s history, design, and technical specifications, be sure to check out our own Marty Padgett’s first drive report, and stay tuned for more high-res imagery and high-definition video of the SLS AMG’s return to its Panamericana roots.