Mercedes-Benz finally took the wraps off the hotly anticipated SLS AMG Roadster yesterday. The roadster loses one of the “main-attractions” of the coupe, the gullwing doors, which were loved by most automobile journalists we talked to and gave the car a connection to the original gullwing car.
Although the car loses the gullwing doors and its top, Mercedes engineers worked hard to keep everything else as close as possible to the coupe. With the roof gone, the chassis had to be stiffened with extra bracing but only 88 pounds of weight was gained compared to the SLS AMG coupe. The three-layer soft top is made out of a material that combined the use of magnesium, steel, and aluminum and is available in beige, black or red colors and can be operated at speeds of up to 31 miles per hour (50 km/h), the opening and closing process takes just 11 seconds.
The Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster uses the same powertrain as the one in the coupe, which is a 6.3 liter V8 engine producing 563 horsepower and 479 pound-feet (649 Nm) of torque sent to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The top speed is electronically limited to 197 mph (317 km/h) and the car reaches the 60 mph mark in 3.7 seconds, which is 0.1 seconds faster than the coupe.
The interior comes with luxurious leather surfaces that come in a few choices of colors and carbon fiber or brushed aluminum inserts on the center console. Like all Mercedes convertibles, the SLS AMG Roadster comes with the company’s AIRSCARF system that gently blows warm air around the driver and passenger’s neck and head through vents located on in the head rests. The SLS AMG Roadster comes with an electronically controlled AMG Adaptive Sport Suspension and optional AMG Media Performance package which displays telemetry data, allows the occupants to surf the web, download apps, and even send emails while the car is stationary.
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster will be displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the fall and go on sale at the same time. Unless you live in a warm region, you’ll have to wait until next year to really enjoy the drop-top. The car will be priced at around €190,000 in Germany; the price will most likely be lower in the United States.
