The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (C197 / R197) is a front mid-engine, 2-seater, limited production sports car developed by the Mercedes-AMG division of German automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, with the assistance of Scottish Formula One driver David Coulthard. SLS stands for "Super Leicht Sport" (Super Light Sport).
The SLS was the first Mercedes-Benz automobile designed and built from scratch entirely by AMG. Upon its introduction at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, the SLS AMG's M159 engine was according to AMG "the world's most powerful naturally aspirated production series engine" ever produced.
An electric version of the car, the SLS AMG Electric Drive, was presented at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Production ended in 2014 with the introduction of the SLS AMG GT Final Edition.
As compared to the SLR McLaren, the SLS is, per Mercedes-AMG head Tobias Moers, the faster car on the track, both in the hands of normal drivers as well as race car drivers.Motor Trend, "What AMGs Dev Chief thinks about SLS, SLR, etc.," by Edward Loh, 2 November 2009. The Mercedes-McLaren SLR came in at ."The Mercedes SLR McLaren," Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Orange County The SLS, however, has a curb weight of when equipped with the standard wheels.
Design
The SLS AMG was designed by Mark Fetherston from October 2006 to April 2007 to be a modern 300SL Gullwing revival. The SLS AMG has also adapted the feature of the gull-wing doors that swing open upwards on gas struts, and must be closed manually as AMG engineers decided against the of additional weight that auto-closing systems would have added to the car. In case of a roll-over, the doors can be fully detached to allow the occupants to leave the vehicle.
Although there is some overlapping in price and performance, the lighter SLS AMG is considered more of a sporty track-oriented car, compared to the heavier and more luxurious Mercedes-Benz SL which is a grand tourer especially with its optional V12 engine. Compared to the SLS AMG Roadster, the SL is a hardtop convertible with technological and comfort amenities, and it also has available heated seats with a massage function.
The SLS AMG has won a number of design awards, including the 2010 red dot "best of the best" award, the iF product design award 2010 for the "Transportation Design" category, and the Auto Bild Design Award 2010 as "Europe's most attractive car".examiner.com, 31 May 2010; Mercedes-Benz Brunei – Design – Awards. It is also the only automobile to have won the gold Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany.Daimler Brands & Products, Global Media Site, 2 November 2010.
Production and sales Body styles (production years)
ModelCoupéRoadsterWorldwide ProductionSLS AMG2010–20152011–2015SLS AMG GT2012–20152012–2015350SLS AMG GT32011–2014N/A86SLS AMG Coupé Black Series2013–2015N/A132SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive2013N/A9
The SLS AMG was assembled largely by hand, with its chassis and aluminum body shell produced by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria and then transferred to Sindelfingen, Germany for assembly, with its engine being hand built by AMG in Affalterbach, Germany.
The SLS AMG was officially introduced at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, and sales commenced in mid-2010 in Europe and in mid-2011 in the United States.
Specifications
Engine
ModelYearsType/codePower outputTorqueSLS AMG2010–2015 V8 (M 159 E 63) at 6,800 rpm at 4,750 rpmSLS AMG GT2012–2015 V8 (M 159 E 63) at 6,800 rpm at 4,750 rpmSLS AMG GT32011–2014 V8 (M 159 E 63) at 6,800 rpm at 4,750 rpmSLS AMG Coupé Black Series2013–2015 V8 (M 159 E 63) at 7,400 rpm at 5,500 rpmSLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive20134 synchronous electric motors 400 V lithium-ion battery
The 6.2-litre V8 engine (based on the M156 block) was modified to such an extent that AMG gave it a separate engine code—M159—to signify the more than 120 different modifications done to the engine (as well as the addition of a dry-sump lubrication system to handle the car's high cornering speeds).Road & Track, 2 April 2014, by James Wolfcale.
Transmission
The rear-mounted AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transaxle is connected to the engine through a lightweight carbon fibre driveshaft inside a torque tube. Selectable driving modes include "C" (Controlled Efficiency), "S" (Sport), "S+" (Sport plus) or "M" (Manual; allowing the driver to change gears via paddles present on the steering column behind the steering wheel). A true manual transmission is not available. All SLS AMG models except the SLS AMG Electric Drive use the DCT, with the Electric Drive using two single speed transmissions allowing individual distribution of torque to each wheel.
Suspension The SLS AMG has double wishbone suspension with forged aluminium control arms and coilovers, front and rear. It is attached with aluminium brackets to the aluminium space frame, which in its entirety weighs . The steering rack is front-mounted. The rear uses toe links. The stabilizer bars and drop links are steel.
Brakes
Standard are (front) and (rear) two-piece cast iron ventilated disc brakes with 6-piston aluminium (front) and 4-piston (rear) calipers. Optional on the SLS AMG are carbon-ceramic disc brakes. discs with 6-piston aluminium calipers (front) and discs with 4-piston calipers (rear). These brakes provide increased stopping power with a 40% weight reduction compared to the standard braking system. Front calipers have bridge bolts allowing pad changes without removing the calipers.
Fuel consumption The fuel consumption of the SLS AMG is around combined driving (NEDC, provisional figure).
Performance The SLS AMG is capable of accelerating from 0 to in 3.8 seconds (manufacturer claimed), and can reach a top speed of .TopSpeed, "2010 – 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG." It can also perform a quarter mile (400 m) time of 11.7 seconds at . The SLS AMG achieves a lateral acceleration of 0.99,Edmunds, "2013 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG vs. 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT," 20 March 2013. improving upon the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, which achieves a 0.97 figure.
Safety In the June 2010 issue of Car and Driver magazine, safety specifications were revealed pertaining to the safety of the SLS AMG's gullwing doors. Ten to fifteen milliseconds after a detected rollover, explosive bolts situated at the top of the door frame fire and bell cranks separate the doors from the car for easy exit during a serious accident. An anti-lock braking system and a 3-stage electronic stability program (ESP) are standard equipment.
Exterior
The exterior aluminum body is supplied by Magna Steyr. The SLS and the CL65 AMG 40th Anniversary Edition are the only roadgoing Mercedes-Benz automobiles with the AMG Alubeam Silver exterior paint available, at an extra cost of €11,900 in Germany. Other colours include both metallic and matte colours, such as Designo Magno Kashmir, the matte paint known from the SL63 AMG IWC edition.
The SLS AMG has a retractable rear wing which extends at a speed of for stability and handling and acts as an airbrake when braking.
Models
The first model introduced in the SLS lineup was the coupé with gullwing doors. In mid-2010, an FIA-GT3 racing version was introduced; and for 2011–2013, Mercedes introduced a roadster version (with conventional doors and a soft top), an electric E-Cell version (coupé), and the ultimate iteration named the Black Series, which has a reduced weight of .
SLS AMG Coupé (2009) The SLS AMG includes 9.5x19-inch (front) and 11x20-inch (rear) AMG 7-spoke light-alloy wheels with 5-twin-spoke wheels and 10-spoke forged wheels available as an option, 265/35 R 19 front and 295/30 R 20 rear tyres, a tyre pressure monitoring system, Formula-1-style LED fog lamp/reversing light, black diffuser insert, dual exhaust tips with chrome finish, an electronically retractable rear wing automatically deployed at a speed of , choice of 9 exterior colours including the AMG ALU-BEAM silver (an approximately US$12,750 option applied at a specialized location in 7 layers by hand after the surface of the car first receives additional polishing and finishing, with each flake of paint aligned to create a gleaming sheen of bluish silver that has the appearance of molten silver, a labour-intensive process that restricted Mercedes to only 2–3 cars finished in that colour per weekPopular Mechanics, "8 Absurdly Expensive Paint Jobs;" Autoblog 6/5/10, "Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Available in Alubeam – If You Have Patience"), designo magno allanite grey (matte), AMG magno sylvanite grey (matte) and Mars Red (metallic), an instrument cluster with LED upshift indicator and two white backlit dials, COMAND APS multimedia system with its 7-inch screen between the two centre air vents, AMG DRIVE UNIT facing the driver, E-SELECT shift lever, Nappa leather upholstery, solid metal and (optional) genuine carbon-fibre trim; choice of five leather colours for the interior upholstery (black, classic red, sand, porcelain and light brown), sports seat backrests made from magnesium, sports seats with two-zone seat cushions and four-way lumbar support and optional Memory package (three configurable individual settings), integrated head restraints and sporty transverse fluting upholstered in designo leather (in optional classic red, sand and porcelain), performance leather steering wheel in a three-spoke design with 365-millimetre rim, a 3.7-litre glove compartment with a spectacles section, a 176-litre luggage compartment, carbon-fibre driveshaft at the rear axle, AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed sports transmission, 3-stage ESP with acceleration skid control system, optional carbon ceramic brakes (an approximately US$12,500 option), and a 1,000 watt stereo system (an approximately US$6,500 option).
The initial introduction took place at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, and later at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, Auto China 2010, and the second terminal of the Haneda Airport. The production model went on sale in spring 2010. Commercial release of the German model began on 16 November 2009. Pre-orders of the Japanese model began on 14 April 2010 with sales beginning from 10 June 2010 and deliveries beginning on 28 September 2010. Various minor changes and variations ensued, as identified below, with a very small gain in power (though the torque remained identical) and in the case of the final edition in model year 2015, certain visual add-ons (a fixed spoiler and carbon-effect).
SLS AMG "AMG Desert Gold" (2010)
Unveiled at the 2010 Dubai International Motor Show, this variant of the SLS AMG Coupé showcased further customisation options for the SLS AMG including decorative features in shining chrome or Silver Shadow colours, black-painted AMG light-alloy wheels in size 9.5 x 19 at the front and 11.0 x 20 at the rear with a golden ring on the rim flange and a matte gold body colour dubbed "desert gold".
SLS AMG "Blackbird" (2010)
Ordered by Mercedes-Benz's Australian subsidiary for the Australian International Motor Show, the Blackbird is a one-off variant of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé with designo magno Night Black body colour with red highlights.
SLS AMG E-CELL prototype (2011)
Unveiled at the 2011 North American International Auto Show, the SLS AMG E-Cell is based on the SLS AMG Coupé, but is powered by four electric motors that provide a combined power output of and . The battery is a 400 Volt lithium unit with a capacity of 48 kWh. Other features include pushrod damper struts, 402 mm × 39 mm (front) and 360 mm × 32 mm (rear) carbon ceramic brake discs. Full-LED headlamps, AMG 10-spoke light-alloy wheels with smooth-surfaced design, 265/35 R 19 (front) and 295/30 R 20 (rear) tyres, AMG Drive Unit angled towards the driver, sports seats made of quality Nappa leather in a black/white colour combination, performance leather/Alcantara steering wheel and the door linings, centre tunnel.