A lot of speculation surrounded the new SL recently, so much so that I refused to write about it till something was confirmed. Didn’t want to portray ourselves as automotive paparazzi. So here is something that has been confirmed: Mercedes has made the SL uglier and slower, though power outputs are standard Benz ratings, that means insanely high torque outputs and modest horsepower, well, by today’s standards at least. In this case, the traditional SL55 AMG will be replaced with a SL63 AMG. The SL63 features a naturally aspirated 6.2 liter V8 engine delivering 525hp and 630 Nm of torque where else the older SL55 generated 517hp and 720 Nm of torque from a 5.5 liter supercharged V8. See what I mean by insanely high torque figures but one thing I don’t quite understand, Mercedes has made the new SL slower!! Yes, the SL55 AMG rocketed to 100km/h from standstill at 4.5 seconds where else the new SL63 AMG does it in 4.7 seconds. Ok, its fair enough to say that we might never feel the 0.2 difference, but what about bragging rights? Imagine paying for an all-new 2009 Mercedes SL when a older one is still considered to be ‘faster’. Not very comforting or valuable, especially for the kind of money you have to fork out to own one of these autobahn cruisers.
Design wise, I still prefer the pre-facelift look, I believe it looked sleeker and more upmarket. This model looks as if Benz’s design gurus’ ran out of ideas, as a matter of fact, at first glance, the design language hints towards the C-Class, especially that gaping grill. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? As in the C-Class following the SL instead of the SL following the C-Class, don’t get me wrong though, it still looks good, I just figured that Mercedes could have done better, but maybe they’re just saving it for the next generation SL? Alongside the mammoth single bar grille, the new SL also features a revised rear-bumper, different side-gills and new alloy wheels. Inside, the SL features a new three-spoke steering wheel with multifunction buttons as with the 2009 CLS and also a new-look instrument cluster with white dials.
