Mercedes SLS Gullwing – images and news

No, the Mercedes Benz SLS Gullwing (which we all thought was going to be called the Mercedes SLC – but we were wrong!) is not showing at Geneva 2009. But that hasn’t stopped Mercedes from doing a bit of a spoiler for the show on the day before press day by releasing testing images of a disguised car, together with some solid information, instead of all the speculation we’ve been indulging in.

Mercedes Benz SLS AMG in a UK Car showroom near you - but not until 2010!

Mercedes boss Volker Mornhinweg confirmed this morning at a press conference that the SLS is on the way, and should be in UK Car showrooms by late spring next year.

The SLS AMG will feature a rear mounted transaxle and double clutch gearbox, which is needed to balance the long nose. Power will come from a suitably tweaked version of AMG’s 6.2 litre V8, with dry sump lubrication and 571bhp. An aluminium spaceframe keeps the SLS’s weight down to just over 1600kg, with 0-60mph coming up in a little over 3.6 seconds. Top speed is limited to 195mph.

We did get a few things right about the car, including the legendary Gullwing doors (on the coupe) and a meaty set of ceramic brakes as standard. Mercedes are aiming the SLS at the Porsche 911 (the SLS is going to be smaller than the McLaren SLR) and price is expected to come in at around £125k + tax.

Which makes it a bit of a bargain, especially against the SL65 Black, or even the standard SL65.

By Cars UK