Thursday 29th November 2012

Chris Harris video: Mercedes SLS GT

Leaner and meaner SLS given the Harris treatment

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Very soon, the Mercedes SLS will not simply be a single car, but a range of cars. The coupe and roadsterwe already know about, but this new GT version with an extra 20hp and some other tweaks will be joined by the Black Series and Electric Drive versions in 2013.

Just lobbing yourself onto a track, in this case Hockenheim, and being told that the GT version has a little more power and more support from stiffer springs and a new electronic damper brain isn't the best way to tell the difference between it and the new car.

One aspect of the GT which is immediately apparent is the new gearbox mapping - it finally releases the instant shifts the standard car failed to deliver at launch in 2010.

It's been around a while now, but I just wanted to get some video footage of the SLS before the end of 2012. The car drips with character, and that normally aspirated 6.2 V8 is one of the great road engines - even if the extra 20hp is hard to identify. Is it worth around £12K over the standard car? If you want to drive it like a lunatic - yes.

Enjoy the vid, and then go trawling the classifieds for used SLSs - some bargains to be had. Accepting that 'bargain' is being used in the broadest possible sense.

 

 

[Bash Brannigan]

Wooooonderful! Is the gearbox a different unit and if not can the old one be upgraded to act like this one? I remember CH running one in EVO and it just looked ace. WANT!

[cerb4.5lee]

Great video Chris thanks, I do love the sound of that motor & the doors are a nice talking point too, love the sliding as always

[RockDoctor]

That very last burble as it goes past around 5:29 is lovely.

[The Pits]

Amazing car I'm sure. Would love to try one.

Still can't work out why it's so ugly.

The original SLS is ball-acheingly beautiful.

Sure, it's a tough act to follow but Ford rebooted their iconic GT40 successfully, so how did it all go so pete tong?

[Stuart]

The Pits said:

Still can't work out why it's so ugly.

The original SLS is ball-acheingly beautiful.

Passenger impact regs I reckon. The requirement for sufficient clearance between bonnet and engine block gives you a bonnet line (and specifically height) from which the rest of the car must be drawn, and be in proportion with. As a result you get an all round bigger car with more cartoonish dimensions. The driver's seat is particularly far back in the SLS (you feel as if you're sat between the rear wheels, US muscle car style) and you still need a boot, so it can't get away with a pretty rear end either.

They shrink around you though, these cars. I spent a very long day in one, and by the end of it the car felt far smaller than it actually is. I've none of CH's skill or experience behind the wheel but it went from being a rather intimidating GT to being really quite chuckable and flattering.

[Foggy748]

I love this car and I would dearly love to own one; the engine is just fantastic, you can't beat that soundtrack! Anyone want to do a swap?

[loudlashadjuster]

Love the SLS, although I can't figure out why they're still equipping it with the same steering wheel you got in a W203 C-Class.

Also, all this AMG sub-branding might be a bit of a stretch; base car fine, Black Series fine, GT...?

[loudlashadjuster]

Bash Brannigan said:

Wooooonderful! Is the gearbox a different unit and if not can the old one be upgraded to act like this one? I remember CH running one in EVO and it just looked ace. WANT!

Background to gearbox changes here: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...

[Beefmeister]

God I do love the SLS (my review here) - can't wait to drive the GT and then the Black Series!!

[moskvich427]

These have really grown on me. It's a car that looks (and sounds!) far better in the flesh too.

But surely an Aston is a more 'direct competitor' than a Ferrari??

[rocky79]

Like the car.

Sound like Kenny from South Park with that helmet on though!

[soad]

Mmm, what a car!

[MrTappets]

I suppose the new Vanquish is probably the closest competitor to this, assuming the GT is about £20k more than the standard SLS.

[petrolveins]

Nice video, but that video does not do the noise of that 6.2 justice, on a track the crackles and pops on the overrun are just sublime. In a day of emissions laws and general green bks it's amazing that a factory car sounds that good. I'm lucky enough to get to play with an SLS or two most days at work.

[sinbaddio]

It's a tough job but I guess someone has to do it.........

[Trevor M]

The SLS is truly one of those cars which looks better in real life than it does in photos or even videos. And it also is very colour sensitive. Blue is certainly the best colour for it, as it seems to work best with its unusual proportions. However, blue is not normally offered anymore and we seem to see far too many of them in dull gray which doesn't work on the car at all.

The engine, the interior, the coolness of the gullwing doors, and the spectacular build quality all put it right up there as a car that needs to be test driven by anybody looking to buy in this segment.

However, I don't know about this whole GT and upcoming Black series. Starting to get a little too DB9/Virage/DBS in strategy. Aston Martin learned their lesson and now have only a fully upgraded DB9 and Vanquish (with its significantly different interior) and it makes a lot more sense.

Edited by Trevor M on Wednesday 28th November 19:31

[Dave Hedgehog]

giant phallus bonnet, ideal for powerful company directors

[Amirhussain]

Awesome car, looks good too, but I think I would have the McMerc SLR, just looks a bit more nuts and imo sounds better.

[JohnGoodridge]

RockDoctor said:

That very last burble as it goes past around 5:29 is lovely.

My favourite is that slow-mo bit at about 4:40. The combination of tyre squeal and exhaust snarl sounds like an attack Rottweiler owned by a friend of mine.

[RemyMartin]

Guess I'm on my own with this view but.....


This car does nothing for me, blandness beyond blandness to look at. OK it sounds lovely but I just can't get excited about anything this car has to offer...