Seventh Heaven: Mercedes’ 7th Gen SL Gets AMG Treatment
As nostalgic nameplates continue to rally, an MB icon is reborn–behold, the revamped AMG SL.
Glamorous. Eye-catching. Beautiful.
Just like that high school classmate of yours that always looked amazing and could do nothing wrong, the Mercedes SL always seemed to ooze confidence from its pores. Borne from the one that started it all, the iconic 300 SL, and the sumptuous, angular R107, comes a new, seventh generation SL that is set to be a more performance-oriented GT car.
In a video released by Mercedes-AMG, we get a first-hand look at the production process of the next generation of the AMG SL. According to Motor Authority, the SL is built at the Mercedes plant in Bremen, Germany, the same plant that cranks out the new EQC and EQE EVs, as well as the new C-Class GLC-Class.
Yes, life is good if you’re an SL. But life is not all ascension. Life is peaks and valleys. Your aforementioned high school classmate? It may be unbeknownst to you that they quietly went through a rough patch in their life, where even they discovered life isn’t all that glamorous sometimes (it happens to all of us). The SL suffered a rough patch in the form of slowed sales turned to barely any sales at all – Mercedes reported less than 1,800 units sold in the U.S. in 2020.
But, like that high school classmate of yours, misfortune never seems to meander around too long for the SL. The new AMG SL boasts the same vertical pinstripe grille adorned by a massive Tri Star badge and subtle AMG badge on the lower right. Its thin taillights are reminiscent of the roadster it’s set to replace, the AMG GT. Performance-wise, Motor Authority says the new AMG SL will be nearly 20 percent stiffer than the previous generation, and has a lower center of gravity. Its powerplant is still not confirmed, but Motor Authority says one of the AMG SL’s expected powertrains is an 800 horsepower plug-in hybrid version of the 4-liter twin turbo V8 (planted in that small frame? Wowzers).
As the automotive industry sees revivals of old or discontinued nameplates, the SL remains. It is apparent how much Mercedes values this nameplate and what it represents: timelessness, elegance and performance.