Mercedes-Benz’s 563-horsepower SLS AMG has gone topless to create the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster.
Boasting an AMG-designed chassis, body and powertrain, the SLS Roadster is officially considered the “second” car to be independently developed by AMG. The SLS Roadster is, obviously, based very heavily on its gullwing sibling.
Under both hoods
The SLS AMG’s compact cloth fabric top was chosen for three reasons: Its light weight compared to a folding metal roof, its trim folded dimensions and its unique style. Capable of stowing away in just 11 seconds, it can be operated at speeds up to 31 mph.
Unlike the gullwing, the Roadster’s doors open traditionally with little pomp and circumstance. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t impressive inside.
Under the roof, things are mostly standard SLS AMG. That’s to say that the car draws inspiration from the original 300SL Gullwing of the 1950s, a legendary racing and road car that is highly valued by collectors today. The dashboard is retro-modern, with all the latest Mercedes-Benz luxuries and high-grade materials and trim that can be tailored to an individual buyer’s tastes.
Its dashboard is aircraft-inspired, as well, thanks to the jet engine-resemblilng vent nozzles and the aircraft thrust control-shaped E-Select gear lever.
That lever helps fire up the AMG Speedshift DCT 7-speed automatic. With four modes – comfort, sport, sport+ and manual – the automatic can fire off shifts faster than any driver could. A Race Start function optimizes the car’s sophisticated traction control system and mechanical differential lock for optimal launches.
Motivating the SLS AMG is the division’s 6.3-liter V8, which puts out 563 horsepower at 6,800 rpm and 479 lb-ft. of torque at 4,750 rpm. This thrust propels the SLS AMG to 60 mph in a mere 3.7 seconds and the car is electronically limited to an impressive 197 mph. As a result, both roadster and gullwing boast similar performance figures.
Designed to handle
Like the coupe, the SLS AMG Roadster is more than just an acceleration machine. A low-mounted engine with a dry sump system helps ensure optimal weight distribution and a nearly ground-level center of gravity.
The engine is front-mid mounted, meaning it lies as close to the center of the vehicle as possible, which helps AMG achieve a 47/53 weight distribution. A broad track – 66.2 inches up front and 65.1 inches out back – improves grip and control.
All four wheels hit the ground thanks to double wishbone suspensions with a track road, a Formula 1-derived technology.
Buyers can select either the standard sport-oriented suspension or a new Adaptive AMG Sport Suspension with three modes (comfort, sport and sport+). Each mode features its own shock tuning to alter the ride quality based on the type of driving desired.
The rear-wheel-drive roadster also offers optional ceramic brakes for optimal fade-free braking under extreme conditions.
Look for the SLS AMG Roadster to make its auto show debut later this year the Frankfurt Motor Show before it goes on sale worldwide.
Funny thing about automotive history: more often than not, it repeats itself, and such is the case with Mercedes-Benz's halo cars. In 1957, three years after the legendary 300SL was offered to the public, Mercedes-Benz rolled out the 300SL roadster. And come September, roughly two years after the gullwinged SLS AMG supercar was first unveiled debuted, a drop-top version -- the 2012 SLS AMG Roadster -- will be added to the company's portfolio. The cache of official photos released by the PR team in Stuttgart show the drop-top take on the SLS wearing light camouflage, but there's really very little to hide. Below the beltline, the Roadster is almost identical to its coupe sibling (563-hp, 6.2-liter V-8, rear-wheel-drive, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and so on). Above that point, the revisions are quite predictable: in lieu of the fixed metal roof and distinctive upward-opening doors, the Roadster uses a retractable folding soft top and conventional, front-hinged doors.
Despite clipping the wing-shaped portals, AMG engineers insist they had to change precious little in order to orchestrate a convertible SLS. Unlike the original 300 SL, the SLS was designed from square one to accommodate both coupe and convertible body styles; subsequently, both cars incorporate a number of tricks (i.e. thick side sills, etc.) to increase stiffness. Additional reinforcements are added to the Roadster's spaceframe, but are limited to supports beneath the windshield and around the transmission tunnel, a strut mounting stay installed between the soft top assembly and the fuel tank, and a cross member placed behind the front seats -- the latter providing a mounting point for both pop-up rollover protection and a subwoofer sourced from Bang & Olufsen. Daimler notes the convertible's bodyshell itself weighs only six pounds more than the SLS coupe, but the company doesn't provide a curb weight for the completed vehicle. Although the cloth top is inevitably lighter than a folding hardtop design, expect the Roadster's heft to still eclipse the coupe's 3573 pounds, if ever so slightly. Mercedes-Benz says top speed is still electronically limited to 197 mph, but the Roadster's sprint from 0-60 mph may take a little longer than the coupe, which completes the run in3.8 seconds.
"I still find it amazing how much removing the top wakes up the 370Z," writes senior editor Jonny Lieberman. "There's something almost sterile about the hardtop that's missing from the Roadster, especially when the top is down. Sure, it's still a convertible (and a modern, heavy one at that), so it's not the most ideal track car. But there will always be something wonderful about a car that makes you smile while you're commuting home from work. One more thing -- kudos to Nissan for including a display that tells you what gear you're in. Sure, if you're on a track driving competitively, you ought to be aware of what gear you're in. However, if you're in 50-mph traffic and a gap suddenly opens up, it's nice to know you're in fourth, not sixth, as downshifting into second at 50 mph can be both surprising and unpleasant."