If nothing else the SLS AMG Final Edition proves that Merc's Gullwinged hot rod isn't going to slip quietly into retirement. If AMG's first ground-up car is going to become an old fogey it'll be a belligerent one with a repeat prescription for Viagra and stubborn refusal to give up its hell raising ways. A pastel chinos, golf club membership and weekly bridge games with that nice couple from the village kind of retiree it is not.
591hp for uprated 'GT' spec 6.2-litre V8
Are a contrasting carbon bonnet and large fixed rear wing dignified embellishments for a car in its dotage? About as much as a pensioner in a muscle vest but there are plenty of more restrained SLSs in circulation if the rather 'yo' (or should that be 'ja'?) Final Edition addenda don't do it for you.
Indeed, the car you probably wanted was the SLS GT on which the Final Edition is based. Announced last year it got the same uprated 591hp version of AMG's bombastic M156 (dry sumped and designated M159 for the SLS), 'redeveloped' Ride Control adjustable dampers and a rather more restrained appearance with grey wheels and carbon mirror caps. Good luck finding one though - of the 484 SLSs sold in the UK only 11 GTs found homes here meaning it's only slightly less rare than the Black Series, of which there are seven UK cars. Interestingly coupes have outsold roadsters by nearly 4:1, the theatre of those trademark doors too much to resist for most buyers it'd seem. When asked about overall production our PR contact on the ground was strangely reticent, only confirming that they've built 'more than 10,000' and that number far exceeded expectations. Not bad for a first effort at a clean sheet car for a former tuning division...
Fixed Black Series wing part of package
So if the GT was the discerning choice the Final Edition version is like some wannabe Black Series Lite, right? Well, there is some substance behind the style, the Black Series carbon bonnet getting a large vent on its top to draw air through the engine bay for improved cooling and downforce over the front axle. That it also delivers a pleasing heat shimmer into your line of sight in traffic is a nice bonus - at 8kg it also saves 3kg over the standard aluminium item too. New 'Cup' spec Dunlop Sport Maxx Race tyres are also a no-cost option (though not fitted to our test car) to wrap around the forged 19/20-inch wheels and the fixed rear wing is also the same as the Black Series. Of course you don't get the +26mm/+52mm front/rear track, 70kg weight saving, additional underbody bracing or extra aero flics.
Nor do you get the 631hp GT3-inspired engine with its revised crank, valvetrain or 8,000rpm-plus redline. Somehow you're expected to get along with a mere 591hp, the GT-spec M159 actually having more torque than the Black Series unit (479lb ft against 468lb ft), albeit still delivered at 4,750rpm. The spec is of the kitchen sink variety; options, both fitted to our test car, extending only to ceramic brakes at £8,140 and special paints like the £2,995 Designo Magno Graphite seen here.
Static SLS photo? Gotta have the doors open
So much for the numbers though. The SLS has always been a thrilling device and the sense of mechanical connection at the core of its appeal. Exhaust noise dominates, alternately booming, banging, popping and throbbing its way through the rev range in a way that never fails to entertain. But it's the accompaniment of gnashing valve gear and solid clunks through the transaxle mounted dual-clutch gearbox that relay as much to the driver about the car's character and that of the folk that built it.
A bit of Solitude
The steering has that same twangy linearity as all AMGs - even the A45 - and the harder of the two settings on the Ride Control dampers (introduced with the Roadster) would appear to add some heft to the off-centre feel too. Intimidating size apart it's an appealingly straightforward car to drive. It's a big old lump on the B-road proportioned local tarmac around AMG's Affalterbach HQ, but on the old Solitude road circuit near Stuttgart airport tastes of the SLS's savage side are glimpsed in snatched eruptions between plodding commuters.
Forged wheels standard, Cup tyres free option
There's a little of the SLR's proportions with the long nose and rear-set cabin but the SLS is in a different league in terms of confidence building predictability. Turn-in is positive and additional angle only ever a twitch of the right foot away if you're feeling brave. Like all AMGs the SLS loves to oversteer and even in the mid-way ESP setting can require hearty amounts of opposite lock to keep on the straight and narrow - see
vid clip below
for evidence. GT, hot rod, supercar - somehow the SLS blurs the boundaries and can do all of the above.
There's pitch and roll to keep you in tune with the weight transfers too, though the damping control is four-square and excellently judged. In another quirk shared with other AMGs great and small the gearbox continues to frustrate, upshifts hammering through on demand in manual mode but the software sometimes delivering two or three downshifts when only one was requested. An issue that seems less obvious when pressing on it would seem, meaning self-blipping S+ auto is probably the best bet unless you're really on it.
If you were here now your ears would be ringing
All in all it's as the SLS always has been, just with a little extra bling to see out these final months on sale and wrap up with a last hurrah of 350 Final Editions. Which is to say a proper event car, a beguiling mix of old-school dynamics, modern tech and a monster of an engine having one last spectacular bellow from the front of the stage.
MERCEDES SLS AMG GT FINAL EDITION
Engine: 6,208cc V8
Transmission: 7-Speed DCT twin-clutch, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 591@6,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 479@4,750rpm
0-62mph: 3.7sec
Top speed: 199mph (limited)
Weight: 1,695kg (Roadster 1,735kg)
MPG: 21.4 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 308g/km
Price: £191,000 (Roadster £199,500)
- 2009 SLS AMG launches at Frankfurt show
- 2010 SLS AMG goes on sale; adopted as F1 Safety car
- 2011 SLS AMG Roadster launched introducing Ride Control dampers to both models; GT3 race version also launched
- 2013 (April) SLS GT and Roadster replace standard SLS AMG and Roadster with 20hp boost to 591hp; SLS Black Series also launched with widened track, 631hp engine, 70kg weight saving and more
- 2013 (November) GT-based SLS Final Edition announced at LA show; 350 units (coupe and Roadster combined), optional Dunlop Sport Maxx Race Cup tyres, Black Series carbon bonnet and wing and more
Some onboard vid here.