Next-generation SL roadster will go back to using a cloth convertible top.
The Mercedes-Benz SL is a timeless automotive icon, but its current form is not long for this world.
Picture the SL as it is right now. What do you see? Two seats and a folding hard top, right? According to Autocar, we won’t be seeing that for long.
The site said, “Development of the new two-seat luxury roadster was handed to AMG last year as part of a plan by Mercedes-Benz’s incoming research and development boss, Ola Källenius, to provide the new SL with what’s been described as ‘a more sporting character’ than the existing model.”
The go-fast gurus at AMG will base the SL on a new platform known as MSA (modularen sportwagen architektur). They’ve developed the MSA underpinnings using lessons learned from building the MRA setup (modularen rear architektur) found in the E-Class. MSA will also find its way into the lower half of the successor to the current SLC.
AMG’s transformation of the SL – which has been codenamed R232 – will literally be from the ground up. The two-seater layout will switch to a 2+2 setup. For the first time since the fourth-generation model, the SL will have a fabric roof. The multi-layer lid will feature construction similar to that used for the roof of the S-Class cabrio.
It may be another two years until we see the next SL, but according to Autocar, it’s likely the engine lineup for it will look like this:
-SL 300: Turbocharged 3.0-liter I6 with 365 horsepower
-SL 400: Turbocharged 3.0-liter I6 with 435 horsepower
-SL 500: 4.0-liter twin-turbo AMG V8 with roughly 455 horsepower
-SL 63: 4.0-liter twin-turbo AMG V8 with as much as 603 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque
-SL 65: 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 with 621 horsepower
We’re probably going to start seeing more news about the SL pop up in the coming weeks and months because a source told Autocar that the car is “the next in line for development.”
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
