2011 AMG
Coming this spring is the first car developed completely by AMG, the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
The SLS takes the place of the Mercedes-McLaren SLR as Mercedes’ modern, high-tech super sports car, but it also reaches back into the past. With “gull wing” doors that open upward instead of outward and a throwback design, the SLS is an homage to the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, the legendary Gullwing. Cues from the 300 SL include the long hood, short rear deck and elements of the face and grille.
An all-out two-seat sports car conceived as a Ferrari fighter, the SLS is designed around an aluminum space frame with a central tunnel that helps provide rigidity. To optimize balance, it uses a front-mid-engine layout and a rear transaxle. The engine sits completely behind the front axle, while the transmission rests in front of the rear axle. The result is a near-perfect 47/53 front/ rear weight balance. Thanks to a dry sump oiling system, the engine sits low and helps lower the center of gravity.
The engine is AMG’s hand-built 6.3-liter V-8. It produces 571 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. That’s 46 horses more than in other AMG products thanks to a reworked valvetrain, different camshafts, flow-optimized tubular headers, a better-breathing intake system and a lessrestrictive exhaust system.
