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21/01/2012
REVIEW by EWAN KENNEDY
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Undoubtedly the big star of the 2010 European supercar season was the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing, so-called because of the way the open doors looked like a gull about to swoop.
The SLS was the first car totally designed by AMG – all previous models carrying that prestigious badge were modified Mercedes-Benz cars. The SLS Gullwing harked back to the 1950s when the first Mercedes-Benz 300 SL models hit the garages of serious performance car enthusiasts.
Now there’s an open-top roadster version of the Gullwing. It uses conventional doors; scissor type doors as seen on the million-dollar-plus Mercedes AMG SLR, were considered in the early days of the design, but would have been very expensive.
The roadster and Gullwing which were designed alongside one another from the start, are identical from the windscreen forward, thus helping to trim the price.
The high-strength-steel windscreen frame acts as a roll-bar in the unfortunate event of a tip-the-car-over crash. Many parts of the SLS are built from aluminium or magnesium to keep weight down.
The SLS roadster’s soft-top folding roof is a fast acting masterpiece that opens or closes in a mere 11 seconds. Even better, it can be operated at speeds of up to 50 km/h, so you can stay dry in normal traffic running if the skies do start to open. Or make a grand entrance at the golf club or cafe!
Power still comes from the 6.2-litre V8 engine as AMG feels the SLS’s historical background suits it to this engine. Future models may use one of the new twin-turbo V8s, though Mercedes-Benz and AMG refuse to discuss this matter. In SLS roadster format the big V8 produces up to 420 kilowatts of power and 650 Newton metres of torque. The latter comes in at 4750 rpm, well short of the peak power revs of 6800, so there plenty of grunt on offer through much of the rev band.
Then there’s the sound … oh, the sound. Never before have we driven a road car that sounds as much like a racing car. The engine burbles at idle and when moving at gentle revs, but even at these daily traffic speeds its aural outputs are likely to bring a smile to the face. Give the pedal on the right a solid push and the noise intensity and quality increases to beautiful levels. There’s even that spitting from the exhaust during fast upwards gearshifts in the seven-speed automatic that are race-car like.
Incidentally, should you be able to take your SLS AMG roadster to a race track – something we highly recommend in the interests of fun and more fun – you will find its speed limited to ‘only’ 317 km/h…
The engine’s symphony of sounds continues when the fast-acting auto downchanges by giving a healthy blip to match revs. We loved it all.
Handling and road grip are stupendous, with plenty of feel through the steering as well as your backside. The ride is on the firm side so this car could upset some passengers who aren’t really into the sporting car scene. Our initial 400-km test driving was done out of Melbourne and involved twisting hill roads as well as a cruise down St Kilda way, a perfect run for a car in this class.
Hot blustery winds and 35 degrees made top-down motoring somewhat unpleasant after the first hour or so and the wind deflector didn’t seem to make a huge difference. We powered up the roof and kept going, which seemed like a shame, but...
Obviously the biggest selling point of the SLS Gullwing is its door layout, something that’s unique in the proper sense of that word. But the SLS roadster plays in a pack of competitors including Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin and Audi so will have stiffer competition. It will be interesting to see how the sales mix between SLS AMG roadster and Gullwing coupe pans out.
Merc’s new SLS AMG roadster is priced at $487,500 plus substantial on-road costs. This is about $17,000 more than the Gullwing coupe, but more than half of that price difference is explained by additional equipment on the roadster compared with the coupe, for example the Designo leather trip that’s an option on the coupe is standard on the roadster. |
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