Tag Archives: Mercedes

Here’s Your First Look At The 2022 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren HDK

admin • December 22, 2021

His post says: "Ooh what is this for??? I could not possibly say… look out 2022." Which means of course that the new SLR McLaren will make its world debut sometime next year.

For the moment we have very limited information on the new SLR McLaren, but rumors suggest it will be called HDK - High Downforce Kit. Previous rumors suggested Mercedes will build a total of 12 units, but Khoshbin’s post suggest his car will be a "one-off." So, it is very possible that all those 12 units will be tailored to each customer’s personal taste.

Here's Your First Look At The 2022 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren HDK
- image 1042625

The scale model posted by Khoshbin reveals an aggressive look, with a vented hood, a massive rear wing, a large rear diffuser, bulkier side skirts, and a single-exit exhaust pipe on each side. In fact it looks quite a lot with the SLR 722 GT - the car on which rumors suggest it will be based on. If so, expect the SLR HDK to deliver more than 617 horsepower - the power of the SLR 722 GT.

One thing is for sure, all 12 units were spoken for, so there is no hope you could get one.

Source: thesupercarblog

This Hand-Made AMG GT R Speedster Is Beyond Rare

admin • June 19, 2021

Roland A. Bussink commissioned HWA AG – a company that develops components for AMG. Hans-Werner Aufrecht is the founder of HWA AG, as well as one of the founders of AMG. Officially, Mercedes still don’t have a Speedster as the bespoke AMG GTR is not actually developed by AMG. However, HWA’s connection to AMG makes it the next best thing.

The AMG GTR Speedster draws inspiration from the SLR Stirling Moss, as well as Formula One. Its most distinctive feature is the Y-shaped “Speedbow”. It starts from where the windshield used to be – you still get a small Barchetta-style windshield – and finishes behind the headrests, connecting with the rear of the car. It bears striking resemblance to the Halo used in current Formula One cars. In addition to giving it unique and striking new looks, the element provides structural rigidity.

This Hand-Made AMG GT R Speedster Is Beyond Rare Exterior
- image 990709

Initially, the car started life as an AMG GT R Convertible, which made the conversion slightly easier, as less cutting was required. But it’s not just a matter of chopping the roof off. There are many other chassis enhancements, ensuring superior structural rigidity.

You can choose to have the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 in stock trim – 577 horsepower and 516 pound-feet (700 Nm) or you can have HWA bring it up to a mind-blowing 850 horsepower and 767 pound-feet (1,040 Nm).

For comparison, the McLaren Elva engine is generating 803 horsepower, while the Aston Martin V-12 Speedster – “only” 700. There will be only five copies of the Bussink GTR SpeedLegend.

Engine	4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8
Power	850 HP
Torque	767 LB-FT

Source: Bussink

Automakers Suspend Operations, Change Equipment Due to Chip Shortage

admin • April 21, 2021

Ford is temporarily suspending production at its Kansas City assembly plant to deal with the shortage.

Automakers continue to search for ways to deal with the semiconductor chip shortage impacting the industry on a global scale.

Most companies cut back production and shift available chip inventory to high-profit vehicles like pickup trucks. Seemingly no automaker is immune to the problem, including pricey luxury and sports car makers. Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and others all recently announced moves to deal with the shortage.

This week is not different with Daimler, Stellantis and Subaru reporting today they are taking new measures to account for current run of chip shortages, both in the U.S. and in other facilities around the world.

New announcements

Ford plans to extend the shutdowns at plants that build its F-150, Ford Transit, Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator, Ford Edge/Lincoln Nautilus and Ford Mustang. The Kansas City Assembly Plant that builds its top-selling F-150 and Transit commercial van suspend operations for the weeks of May 3 and 10. It’s currently closed down.

GM is slowing production of its van at its Wentzville plant to deal with the chip shortage.

The Flat Rock, Michigan plant, which builds the Mustang, and Chicago plant that builds the Explorer and Aviator will also be down the first two weeks of next month. They’ve been down since the week of April 12, according to Automotive News.

The company plans to continue the reduced production of its Super Duty and medium-duty trucks at the Ohio Assembly Plant near Cleveland.

General Motors plans to move its Wentzville (Missouri) Assembly plant from three shifts to just two on a temporary basis starting the week of April 26. It’s cutting van production at the site. Production of its midsize pickups, the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, are unaffected. The company just restarted operations at the facility last week after a two-week shutdown.

Other moves

In what may be the most novel approach to dealing with the issue thus far, Stellantis is using analog speedometers in some its Peugeot models instead of the digital ones they would normally come equipped with.

Daimler is cutting hours for 18,500 workers at two plants in Germany as it waits for more chips.

The move affects only the Peugeot 308, Reuters reported, which are built in France. The brand sold about 98,000 of the 308 model last year. The 308 is being phased out this fall in favor of a new vehicle. The company may reduce the price as a result of the less advanced speedo.

Daimler plans to reduce hours for 18,500 employees and idle production at its Bremen and Rastatt plants in Germany. Bremen builds the C-Class as well as the GLC, GLC Coupe and the all-electric EQC. The Rastatt plant produces the A-Class hybrid as well as the A-Class sedan, B-Class and GLA compact SUV.

Japanese automaker Subaru Corp. revealed plans to temporarily suspend production at its plant in Lafayette, Indiana. The closure will be in place until the end of April, according to officials. It will affect about 15,000 vehicles for North America, officials noted. The company builds the Ascent, Outback, Legacy and Impreza at the site.

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With EQB, Mercedes Launches Third All-Electric Model This Year

admin • April 18, 2021

The Mercedes EQB is the third all-electric model the automaker has rolled out so far this year,

After a slow start, Mercedes is ramping up its assault on the battery-car market with the launch of the new EQB sport-utility vehicle at the Shanghai Auto Show.

Available with up to seven seats, the EQB debuts barely a week after the automaker unveiled its all-electric flagship, the EQS, the latter to serve as the battery-powered alternative to the classic Mercedes-Benz S-Class that also has been redesigned this year. The year began with the rollout of the EQA, bringing to three the number of battery-electric vehicles the German automaker has debuted in less than four months, with still more products to come.

“With the all new EQB we have created an iconic electric SUV that takes the heritage of our boxy off-road vehicles and transforms this into the future,” said Gorden Wagener, chief design officer of Daimler Group — who spoke to TheDetroitBureau this past week in an exclusive Q&A. “We combine the significant boxy silhouette with futuristic elements such as the black-panel front to create the extraordinary look of the vehicle.”

Lot’s in common with the familiar Mercedes GLB

The EQB will debut in its most premium form on the Chinese market, with Europe and the U.S. to follow.

At 184 inches in length, 72 inches in width and 66 inches in height, and with a wheelbase of 66 inches, the Mercedes EQB’s dimensions are nearly identical to those of the conventional GLB crossover. But, like the rest of the new Mercedes EQ family, the new model mounts batteries, motors and other key electrical components below the load floor in a skateboard-like platform.

The design is not nearly as radical as that of the new EQS sedan, with its breakout “one-bow” styling. The EQB could be confused, at a casual glance, with the more familiar GLB, starting with the traditional two-box SUV silhouette.

But a closer inspection reveals a number of distinctive details, starting up front with a large black grille with the Mercedes tri-star that is there primarily for appearance sake. As with other BEVs, there is little need for airflow under the hood without an internal combustion engine. Smaller air intakes below the bumper provide cooling air for the battery pack, brakes and electronics.

Another distinctive touch is the fiber-optic lighting strip that runs just below the hood cutline, linking the EQB’s LED headlights and daytime running lights.

Plenty of room

The Mercedes EQB will offer an optional third row.

The interior is likely also to feel familiar to current EQB owners, starting with the large, twin videoscreens, one replacing a conventional gauge cluster, the other serving the infotainment unit. That system can be operated by voice, a console-mounted touchpad, controls on the steering wheel or by using the MBUX operating system. The Alexa-like voice assistant recognizes plain language commands and can also perform tasks like checking the weather.

The new model also integrates what Mercedes calls “Navigation with Electric Intelligence” which, it says, “contributes to the effortless handling of the EQB in everyday life. It calculates the fastest route to the destination, taking into account maximum charging power and the duration of possible charging stops. In addition, the Navigation with Electric Intelligence ensures that the high-voltage battery is brought to an optimal charging temperature before a planned charging stop, as needed.”

The new Mercedes EQB comes standard in a five-passenger configuration. But it also can be ordered with a third row adding room for two more. The center row can tilt and slide fore and aft by as much as 5.5 inches.

A staggered global rollout

A variety of different powertrains and battery packs will be offered for the Mercedes EQB.

The automaker plans to offer the EQB in a number of different markets and a variety of different configurations. It will reach showrooms first in China, not surprisingly, a country that has laid out an aggressive plan for growing its electrified vehicle market. The initial Chinese version, said Mercedes in a statement, will be “a fully equipped top-of-the-range model with AMG Line and an output of 288 horsepower.”

Europe will get the EQB later this year and, said Mercedes, “customers will have the choice between several models with front-wheel and all-wheel drive and various power levels, some rated at over 268 hp.”

The U.S. introduction is scheduled for 2022, but the automaker is being vague about the details of what will be offered in that market. It is considered likely that American buyers will have at least one of the higher-output drive systems with all-wheel drive available as an option, if not a standard feature.

Quick charging

The cabin will be relatively familiar to current Mercedes-Benz GLB owners.

Mercedes noted that the European battery pack will be a relatively modest 66.5 kilowatt-hours, only a fraction larger than what Chevrolet offers in the Bolt EV and newer Bolt EUV. But “a long-range version also is planned” for different markets, said the company.

The EQB features an 11 kilowatt onboard charger. It also can plug into a public quick charger and, with at least 100 kW of DC power will go from a 10% to an 80% charge in 30 minutes.

There has been speculation that a higher-power version of the EQB also may be in the works. The gas-powered, seven-seat Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 punches out 302 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, getting it to 60 in about 5 seconds. The EQB does have the advantage of instantaneous torque from its electric drive system, though Mercedes has not released performance figures yet.

Pricing yet to be announced

Also yet to be revealed: pricing for the various EQB models.

The new Mercedes EQB will be assembled at the automaker’s plant in Kecskemet, Hungary. It will be the factory’s first all-electric model, though it has already handled plug-in hybrid versions of the Mercedes-Benz CLA line and will add the A-Class plug-in sometime in the future.

All told, Mercedes says that most of the $85 billion product development money it has outlined for 2021-2025 will go towards battery and digital technologies. By the end of 2022 it plans to have eight all-electric models in showrooms around the world.

“The company envisages that more than 50% of its passenger car unit sales will be accounted for by plug-in hybrids or all-electric vehicles by 2030,” it said in a statement released last week.

Mercedes-Benz Building Electric Sprinter Vans in U.S.

admin • March 31, 2021

Mercedes-Benz has developed a new, more flexible platform for its eSprinter.

As part of its plans to electrify its fleet, Mercedes-Benz announced Tuesday it is finalizing plans to build the next generation of its eSprinter van at its plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, as well as its manufacturing facilities in Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde in Germany.

The new eSprinter will be built on a new platform announced at the end of 2020. Dubbed the Electric Versatility Platform, it’s offered with three battery and multiple body configurations and developed at a cost of 350 million euros, or $410.3 million. It’s part of the company’s overall electrification efforts.

“The future of mobility is electric in the transport sector, especially in the last mile delivery segment. Our share of battery-electric vehicles is constantly growing. We have consistently aligned our strategy accordingly,” said Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, in a statement. “With our newly developed Electric Versatility Platform, we are significantly expanding our offering in the commercial series.”

Tough competition

The eSprinter EVP offers more configurations for its vans.

While final details of the new van will become available when it debuts, the current Sprinter is offered in three wheelbases, four body lengths, three roof heights, four powertrains, and four instrument panels, which are offered in various configurations of storage compartments, cupholders, infotainment options, and climate controls.

All models will have push-button start and new driver-assistance features. The Sprinter van was first introduced in the United States in 1995, updated in 2010 and last redesigned for the 2019 model year, and available with gas or diesel powertrains. The eSprinter, available in Europe, was not offered in the United States, although a badge-engineered Freightliner Sprinter was offered stateside.

Overall, the Sprinter ranked fourth in full-size van sales in 2020 at 41,916 units, behind the-place Ram ProMaster at 50,556 units, second-place Chevrolet Express at 55,131 units and first-place Ford Transit at 131,556 units.

Only the Nissan NV (15,247 units) and GMC Savana (15,108 units) trailed the Sprinter in popularity. Of the Sprinter’s competitors, only the GMC and Chevrolet compete with the Sprinter’s diesel engine option, and none are electrified.

A slew of electrified full-size cargo vans planned

Daimler’s facing tough competition for the eSprinter, starting with the 2022 Ford E-Transit – an all-electric version of the world’s best-selling cargo van.

That should change with the arrival of the 2022 Ford E-Transit, which Ford says will have a range of 126 miles, 33% more than the 74-mile average daily range for commercial vans in the U.S. The company builds the van at its Kansas City Assembly plant.

General Motors has also announced a new standalone EV commercial vehicle brand named BrightDrop, with plans to produce the EV600 electric cargo van by the end of 2021. Powered by GM’s Ultium battery, the EV600 has an estimated range of 250 miles and is capable of 120-kw DC fast-charging 170 miles of range in about an hour.

Also on the horizon is Rivian’s delivery van — already engaged in real-world testing — built in partnership with Amazon, EV startup Canoo, which plans to offer the MPDV2, with EPA estimated ranges from 90 miles to 190 miles. Not to be outdone, Karma Automotive unveiled an extended-range electric cargo van concept called the E-Flex, a battery-electric vehicle with a range of 200 miles. And that’s just the beginning.

Three plant strategy

By building the eSprinter in three locations, the company hopes to optimize production to meet demand worldwide. Currently, the company already builds a version of the eSprinter at its Düsseldorf factory on a line alongside conventionally powered Sprinters.

Powered by the Ultium battery system, the BrightDrop EV600 is targeted to have an estimated range of up to 250 miles on a full charge.

“In the future, we will be able to quickly meet the ever-increasing demand for electrically driven vans and, thanks to our intelligent and flexible production, be able to respond very precisely to the requirements of the different markets,” said Ingo Ettischer, head of Production for Mercedes-Benz Vans.

The expertise the company has developed at building differing Sprinters will be implemented at its North Charleston and Ludwigsfelde plants. In addition to the Sprinter panel van, the company will also construct a chassis model that can used for ambulances, motorhomes or refrigerated transporters, and other types of vehicles. Production of the eSprinter is expected to begin in the second half of 2023.

Pandemic accelerates trends planned for years ago

With the pandemic shutting down retailers and restaurants, and driving to the store is no longer a choice, having the store come to the customer is now an essential part of life. Mercedes-Benz already foresaw the accelerating growth in deliveries four years ago, when the company introduced its current line of Sprinters.

“The biggest issue is that there is not enough capacity out there to deliver the parcels to the customers,” said Volker Mornhinweg, then the head of Mercedes-Benz Vans.

The platform allows for vans of all sizes within the eSprinter line-up.

And that was before COVID accelerated delivery growth to unprecedented degree.

At the time of the current Sprinter’s introduction, Mercedes-Benz debuted Mercedes Pro, a telematics system that communicates between fleet manager and driver, providing vehicle status, vehicle logistics, fleet communications, maintenance management, accident recovery and a digital vehicle log.

The web-based service enables managers to optimize a driver’s efficiency by providing a vehicle’s location, fuel level and maintenance intervals in real time. The system can even track the items in the Sprinters cargo hold, allowing companies to track inventory, and alert a driver about job changes and reroute the van to guarantee to timely deliveries.

A mix of manufacturing facilities

The Mercedes-Benz plant in North Charleston, S.C., is the smallest of the Sprinter plants. Founded 15 years ago for Sprinter and Metris vans, it was expanded to full Sprinter production in 2018 and currently has 1,600 employees.

By comparison, the Ludwigsfelde plant, now 30 years old, employs about 2,000. The Düsseldorf is the oldest of the three plants at 59 years old, and is the largest, employing 6,000. Going forward, Mercedes-Benz is also looking to make its factories carbon-neutral worldwide by cutting emissions generated from vehicle production or from the energy supply used by the plants.

A Week With: 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 4Matic

admin • February 11, 2021

The 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 4Matic offers an impressive mix of comfort and performance.

Entry-level luxury vehicles walk a tightrope. Manufacturers must maintain the illusion of luxury while offering a high-end vehicle at a popular price. But more often than not, consumers must add options to get any luxury, rendering the initial “reasonable” price a work of fiction.

Yet luxury goods have never been a value proposition. For every 5% in improvement in quality, you’re greeted with a 50% improvement in price. Certainly, that’s always been the case with the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 4Matic, a premium performance variant of its redesigned entry-level 2021 GLA 250 and 250 4Matic crossover.

Overview: Once a rarified trim on a handful of vehicles, AMG performance models are now far more common, accounting for 12% of Mercedes-Benz’s U.S. sales. Like the CLA-Class sedan, with which the GLA-Class shares its platform, the GLA 35 gets the same AMG treatment as the CLA 35, with a $11,230 premium added to the GLA 250’s $36,230 base price.

For 2021, the new AMG GLA 35 gets a new-look exterior that isn’t quite as distinctive as its predecessor.

An even hotter GLA 45 is also available, allowing you to reach 60 mph 0.8 second faster, but it will cost you an additional $6,950, or $54,550 – a 50% premium from the base model’s $36,320 starting price. And that’s before adding options.

That’s why the GLA 35 is the better deal; you get upgraded performance, but without the nosebleed pricing.

Exterior: The redesigned GLA-Class is more handsome and imposing than the first generation. It certainly seems worthier of its price, despite being 0.6 inches shorter.

But the new styling comes at a cost, since the GLA has grown 3.6 inches taller.

“… Lost is the previous generation’s aggressively sporty stance, derived from its low roof and high ground clearance. Certainly, the new GLA is handsome, but a bit less distinctive …”

Interior: Nevertheless, the added height does provide more interior space, as does the GLA’s wheelbase, which has been lengthened by 1.1 inches. Now, there’s usable back seat with enough legroom to be practical every day.

Giving the GLA the AMG treatment adds $11,230 to the vehicle’s price tag.

Material quality also seems far better than the GLA it supplants. Three large air-conditioning vents framed in shiny black plastic give the interior a sophisticated visual punch.

That feeling is enhanced by the $400 AMG Performance steering wheel wrapped in Nappa leather, and the gray and black MB-Tex seats, as the $47,550 base price isn’t enough for Mercedes-Benz to provide leather seats.

Surprisingly, items like heated front seats ($500), AMG steering-wheel buttons ($460), and a navigation system with augmented reality ($1,295) are not standard.

And the test car’s $53,220 price didn’t include ventilated seats, which are optional, or a heated steering wheel, which isn’t offered at all.

Powertrain: All GLA-Class models come with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine connected to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Mercedes-Benz describes the GLA 35’s engine as “AMG enhanced,” distinguishing it from the GLA 45’s “AMG handcrafted.”

The interior of the new GLA is covered in Nappa leather on the steering wheel and seats.

The difference? Eighty horsepower. And whereas the GLA 35 reaches 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, the GLA 45 does the deed in 4.3 seconds. GLA 250s can be had with front-wheel or all-wheel drive, GLA 35 and 45s come solely with all-wheel drive.

Technology and Safety: Surprisingly, many of the driver-assistance features you might expect are absent. That said, you do get stability control, brake assist, blind-spot assist and a rearview camera. An optional $1,700, Driver Assistance Package adds many of the missing features.

Like many recent Mercedes-Benz products, a horizontal MBUX touchscreen is visually incorporated into the digital instrument cluster. The display can be configured in one of three modes, Classic, Sport and Supersport.

The striking high-definition graphics and user interface are easy to use, either by touching the screen or using the touchpad on the center console. Processor speed is impressive. The GLA offers Bluetooth audio streaming, four USB-C ports and is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible.

Driving Impressions: Its engine may not be handcrafted, but it still packs a wallop. It’s a fantastical fun mill, generating huge power the nanosecond after you punch the throttle. Throw the GLA 35 into a corner, and you’ll find it to be a very fun dance partner. The steering is accurate, if numb, and the brakes are up to the task of bringing this party to a halt.

The stiff, unyielding suspension is tuned for German roads, not American ones, so imperfections are uncomfortably magnified, and accompanied by an incredible amount of road and tire noise that drown out any conversation, not to mention the audio system. The combination makes any long-term drive an exercise in endurance.

Wrap Up: How badly do you want an AMG? While the GLA 250 makes a convincing case as a premium commuter, the GLA 35’s punchy engine is compromised by a stiff unyielding suspension and symphony of road and tire noise that seem out of place given this car’s premium price tag.

BMW Does a Complete U-Turn on its EV Program

admin • November 4, 2020

The production version of the i4 Concept will reach the U.S. next year. It will use a shared platform.

A week before unveiling the all-new iNext battery-electric vehicle, BMW said it will “realign” its strategy and begin developing a unique architecture solely for “electric drives,” rather than sharing the same platform for vehicles using both battery and conventional gas and diesel powertrains.

That’s a complete about face for the Bavarian marque which, in recent years, had hoped to save money and simplify manufacturing by coming up with common architectures that could roll off the same line. But it also marks a return to BMW’s original strategy when electrified models like the all-electric i3 city car and plug-in hybrid i8 sports car used unique platforms.

“The aim is to create an overall optimum with the new architecture,” CEO Oliver Zipse said during BMW’s quarterly earnings presentation on Wednesday.

(BMW preps for i4 launch, confirms plans for all-electric 5-Series and X1.)

Over the past decade, the auto industry has gone back and forth on the appropriate approach to developing electrified vehicles, pure battery-electric models, in particular. Some, like the Ford Focus Electric and the Volkswagen e-Golf, shared common platforms with the gas and diesel versions of those vehicles. Others, such as the original BMW i models, as well as the new Ford Mustang Mach-E and VW ID.3, used unique architectures.

BMW says the production iNext should get nearly 400 miles of range per charge.

Each approach had both pluses and minuses. Shared platforms result in design compromises, often limiting the amount of batteries that could be stored on a vehicle – impacting range, among other things. But development costs can be held down, while increasing the flexibility of a company’s assembly lines.

Unique platforms, most adopting a skateboard-style layout with batteries and motors mounted below the load floor, can handle larger packs, increasing range and lowering a vehicle’s center of gravity. But that means additional development costs and the tooling up of plants dedicated solely to EVs.

With an upcoming wave of new products BMW had aimed for a compromise strategy. They use flexible platforms that can squeeze more batteries under the load floor for models like the all-electric i4 fastback due out next year. But there’s space for a conventional internal combustion engine for products such as the next BMW 4-Series.

Now, , “We will realign our vehicle architecture from the middle of the decade,” said Zipse, adding that, “Our new cluster architecture is geared towards electric drives” exclusively.

BMW’s i3 is one of the automaker’s best-selling electric vehicles. It uses a unique, rather than shared, platform.

“Our new plant in Hungary plays a key role here,” said the CEO, noting that production of “the new BEV-centered architecture will start there.”

(BMW and Mercedes suspend joint autonomous vehicle development program.)

The plan is to make the new strategy a high priority, an all-new product development operation reporting directly to Zipse. But it will be able to reach out to all other areas within the company, from engineering to sales and marketing which “gives us more control and makes us much faster,” he explained.

The shared platform strategy had come under intense scrutiny within BMW, noted German magazine Automobilwoche, Over the summer, Manfred Wochs, the head of the BMW Works Council, had warned that it resulted in “too many compromises” that could set BMW back competitively, especially in key markets like the U.S. and China.

BMW is racing to get a leg up in an emerging market segment that currently is dominated by the upstart Tesla – with an assortment of traditional competitors, as well as start-ups like Lucid, Fisker and Rivian, aiming to gain share.

But Zipse insisted that BMW will be ready when its new EVs hit market around 2025. “We anticipate that the demand for fully electric vehicles will continue to increase significantly from 2025 onwards. Exactly then – keyword timing – we will ignite phase III of our transformation.”

(BMW may go for a plug-in hybrid with upcoming X8 M.)

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Mercedes Offers Look at Pre-Production AMG-Powered SL Model

admin • August 27, 2020

The next-gen SL Roadster is in the dynamic testing stage, suggesting it should debut early next year.

Few automakers appear to draw from their history the way that Mercedes-Benz does and it’s reaching back to its roots again to update is next-generation SL Roadster.

While not quite ready for primetime, the German automaker is hyping its looming return in Mercedes-AMG form with several pictures of a couple of prototypes running through their paces on German roadways, covered in a skin designed to make it tough to get a good look at hard details.

The company is calling the new model a “reinterpretation” of the original coupe from 1952, and the early pics taken during dynamic testing at the maker’s Test and Technology Center in Immendingen, and now also on public roads in some cases, clearly show a tie to its past — the iconic 300 SL competition racing car of 1952.

(And another one bites the dust: Farewell Mercedes SLC.)

The automaker just cancelled the SLC Roadster, only hinting that something could replace it. This AMG-powered model suggests it’s more than a hint.

The new SL’s photo shoot comes after the German maker ends production of the Mercedes SLC Roadster.

Originally known as the SLK, this compact two-door sports coupe made a buzz early on, in part due to its origami-style folding hardtop, as well as a reasonably affordable entry prices. But the German marque over-extended its line-up during the past few decades and is rationalizing its mix, starting with the SLC.

However, the presence of the SL pre-production model clearly shows that the company plans to offer a small open-air sports car for the future. There are some differences between the outgoing and new models. The first is that the SLC featured a folding hard top while the test model is sporting a soft top.

(Major remake for renamed Mercedes SLC roadster.)

The new model looks a little lower and more nimble than its predecessor. The reduced weight due to the shift away from the folding hard top will only add to that feeling. It also may be a bit smaller than the previous model as there are reports it’s based on the AMG GT platform.

Given that the company is road testing pre-production models, it seems likely the final product will be on the road in fall 2021.

Since it’s a Mercedes-AMG creation, it will be a performance machine. Speculation about the numbers has the “entry-level” model being powered by an inline 6 cylinder engine putting out somewhere between 420 and 430 horsepower.

The next model up will likely use a variant of AMG’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 powerplant, and expect that to hit the road with horsepower numbers exceeding 600 hp. Given the point the company is at in testing, the curtain should raise in early 2021 with deliveries starting in the fall.

(Mercedes drops the covers on the 2017 SL Roadster.)

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