A new ‘aircraft themed’ interior design for future generations of Mercedes sports models will be introduced in the SLS Gullwing supercar when it goes on sale next year.
The new look of the SLS interior has been officially revealed today, along with a computer rendering that gives away some of the key design details of the eagerly-anticipated model’s exterior.
The sketch suggests that easy access provided by the roof-hinged doors means Mercedes has been able to engineer the SLS with hefty structural door sills to help maximise rigidity. This impression is borne out by the photograph of the interior with its seats slung low between the sills and the transmission tunnel – apparently the seat bases are just 369mm above the tarmac.
The occupants sit facing a fascia that Merc describes as ‘wing-like’, with air vents that are supposed to make you think of aircraft engines. The gear selector – hooked up to a 7-speed gearbox – is also designed to look like the thrust lever of passenger jet.
The SLS driver will hold onto a grippy-looking three-spoke steering wheel with a flat-bottom to clear the knobbliest of knees, while peering over a ‘classic’ twin dial instrument panel through a low windscreen towards what looks as though it’s going to be a magnificent view down that strikingly contoured bonnet.
One possibly jarring visual feature is what appears to be a pair of Ford Thunderbird-style ‘opera windows’ behind the doors. But we trust that fellow PH-ers will be big enough to reserve judgement until the SLS has appeared in the flesh.