Mercedes' iconic roadster is refreshed for 2012
The SL has been one of the bedrocks of the Mercedes range for the last sixty years. For many of those years it has also been the default choice for those looking for an upscale two seater convertible. This is in part from the SL's reputation for rock solid construction. Examples of the third generation R107 SL are still a fairly common sight in the more salubrious parts of West London, despite even the newest examples being over twenty years old.
In recents years the SL has found things a little tougher, though. The R230 SL initially developed a reputation for being unreliabile, something it shared with many Mercedes from the early part of the 2000s. Mercedes has also made life for the SL harder by introducing two in-house rivals: the SLK and the SLS. The SLK replicates the SL formula on a smaller scale with the top of the line examples overlapping the bottom of the SL range. At the top of the range Mercedes has introduced the SLS. Developed by AMG, the SLS takes the SL template but adds a more sporting dimension - something the SL has lacked in standard form since the original iconic 300SL.
With all this in mind, today Mercedes released official photos of the sixth-generation SL, internally codenamed R231. The new SL shares some of its basic architecture with the SLS and as a result makes considerable use of aluminium in its construction. This results in the new car being up to 140kg lighter than the outgoing model, while being 20% stiffer. As before, the SL uses a folding metal hardtop with an electro-chromic glass version being available as an option.
Launch engines are two new direct injection petrol units, a 302bhp V6 in the SL350 and a 429bhp 4.7 litre twin turbo V8 in the SL500 (possibly to be called SL550 in the US?).
In order to differentiate the new car from the SLS, the SL chassis will be tuned for cruising rather than foot-down motoring. So far there has been no mention of an SL63 AMG version, but since the open version of the SLS has only recently been unveiled, expect the hotter SL to be some time while away. At the other end of the performance scale, don't be surprised if a diesel version appears (in European markets at least) in the near future.
The SL has also been about timeless elegance rather than following the latest design fads, but with the new version Mercedes has rather lost the plot. The headlamps are on the bulbous side and the heavier rear section initially reminded me of the truly awful Lexus SC430, although on second inspection it is not quite that bad. It does'nt help that most of the official pictures show the car with what I presume to be an AMG bodykit, which makes the car's flanks and rear look rather heavy. The more basic car (shown in the bronze colour in the photographs) works rather better to my mind, but even that now has to give best to the SLK in the looks department.
No word yet on pricing but don't expect it to be any cheaper than the current SL; the SL500 will currently set you back £81,705.
Gallery
