Photo: Michael Bettencourt

Willow Springs, Calif. – Loud, visceral, aggressive, uncompromisingly track-focused: the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series is just about the polar opposite of your typical Mercedes-Benz. But it’s not meant to be the ultimate Mercedes-Benz, it’s meant to be the ultimate AMG, Benz’s performance tuning arm.

As such, with the last Maybach rolling off the line last year, the SLS Black Series is now the German luxury firm’s most expensive vehicle for 2014. And ironically, its least luxurious.

The SLS AMG Black Series starts at $294,000 in Canada, and is so exclusive, one must deal directly with the corporate parent to order one. That would be illegal in many U.S. states, but there are no such restrictions in Canada. Various Canadian Mercedes-Benz retailers are corporate-owned stores – especially the larger downtown ones in major cities – so a dealer visit will still be involved. But if you’re seriously looking to plunk down 300+ grand for the quickest and most untamed AMG model ever produced, chances are the right folks have already reached out to you, as deliveries began this summer.

Slightly faster but way different


Photo: Michael Bettencourt



Considering that the regular SLS AMG GT starts at $217,900, the extra cost on paper doesn’t bring a huge upgrade to on-paper performance figures. What you’re paying for is effectively the unleashing of the barely restrained sportiness of the SLS GT. It now unleashes 622 hp at 7,400 rpm from AMG’s naturally-aspirated V8 engine, with 468 lb.-ft. of torque at 5,500 rpm. That’s an extra 39 ponies, but this higher-revving engine maxes out with 11 lb.-ft. less than the standard SLS.

Those two figures, plus its 70-kg weight reduction, result in a 3.6-second 0-100 km/h time, or 0.1 seconds quicker than regular versions. Its top speed comes in at a scenery-blurring 315 km/h, if you manage to find a track and the mighty courage needed to push such limits, but it’s a touch lower than the 320 km/h V-max of its non-AMG SLS siblings, according to Mercedes-Benz numbers.

In essence, this is a GT3 racecar powertrain made legal for the road, while the interior remains a harsher but still civilized environment for street driving. There are no Porsche 911 GT3-style extreme diet measures, such as fabric door handles. But there is a new lithium-ion battery, a titanium exhaust, and lighter carbon-fibre bodywork. The stereo and navi system can be deleted, but so far none of its buyers have opted for that dramatic weight-lessening step, said AMG execs here at Willow Springs race track.