CY

Looks way better then the photoshop.

Murtaza

Wow that looks badass. I still don't like the fact that they didn't wait for a complete facelift. Nice new front but old rear.....thumbsdown on that decision.

spnslc

Way better! Where did you get this shot? Any others? I am anxious to see a "real" full photo of the front. This side shot is impressive.

sack5000

Those wheels are SIC looking. Where did this come from?

Germancar1

Well this a complete facelift, what you're referring to would be called a re-design, next generation model.

M

Murtaza

New model, thats what I meant.

They just had a facelift for 07 and now another one for 09. Bloody stupid.

Chris 45971

A little bit of a Corvette look in that picture.

SL2003driver

Look bad, throws the balance of the car off. Looks like the grafted the front of another vehicle on to the current SL. But I am sure even though it is not as good looking someone will buy it because it is the newest.

Guido1986

I love the wheels

okc329

to the rest of the pictures? I only see one and you can't tell anything about the care from it.

spnslc

Here's the full article:

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9071204....ai-photo-shoot

Soon2bMB

thats from the dubai photoshoot right?

Television

Some of the pictures that I have seen are for a new SLC if you look at the rear end you will see that the roof will not go in the trunk, these pictures do not show the rear end. I will try and find some pics

CY

Heres a pic from Autobild...they usually come pretty close in regards to early production pics:

Anyway this is my view in regards to buying one....

I like it but I am still a bit disappointed that they are choosing to change the front end, while leaving most of the car the same. It just seems to slightly cheapen the image of the SL in my opinion. This is their flagship "sportscar" and it has way too much heritage for a second facelift which mostly focuses on the front end in order to keep it in line with the styling cues of the other current models....Its obvious that the R230 is such a good design they probably want to utilize its chassis as much as possible while also keeping it competitive exterior wise. Either way, even if it looks more badass then the 2003-2008 model (according to these pics....it most certainly does), it still cheapens the SL namesake to change only the front and tweak the rest ever so slightly. This is my second SL and I do truly love MB through and through....but sadly I think Im going to buy a 650ci or M6...if they would have changed more of the body I could rationalize buying it...plus it is my daily driver and I am getting sick of the small size. The only thing that could change my mind is if in person it looks incredibly different then my 2005 (which would mean a different rear end or at least different shaped rear lights)...changing it considerably form the car I already have. It has to give me that feeling like when I first saw the R230....a feeling that made my heart skip a beat and made me get my check book ready with no doubt in my mind that I had to own the car...LOL.

Guido1986

That picture is the worst I have seen idk if its the color or something but that thing is ugly.......the picture before of the silver one wasnt that bad maybe because of the wheels or something, I was waiting for acouple of years now to see what the new SL would look like but now i agree with CY I think my next car will be the audi R8 or the maserati GT.............

SL2003driver

Good analysis

Germancar1

You guys should really wait until the finished product is presented. I seriously doubt they'd change only the front and not at least tweak the rear also. Mercedes has never built an ugly SL and I don't think they're going to start now. The only real pic is the one in the first post.

M

CY

Agreed...I just hope youre right.

gocargo

A "substantial" face change in year 6 for the current SL model seems generous, IMO. The 18-year run of the r107 had minor face change when it got the new engine (380SL) and again with the final engine change (560SL). The r129 series lasted 12 years and received a face change in year 5.

I realize new manufacturing techniques and CAD engineering allow much quicker style changes, but the SL cars have not been MB's bread and butter regarding sales volume and it still takes mega-millions for a complete restyle.

But with a last name of SLack, what would I know

Guido1986

yeah thats what i dont understand that previous SL's had only minor facelifts like this past year for 2007 with the tail lights, grill etc....but they never had a major facelift like the one there doing in 2009.....its stupid they should have left this minor face lift for the next 4-5 years and then redesign it in 2011-2012.

Germancar1

The SL can't make it in its current form for another 4-5 years. It is already behind the S/CL in looks and in-car technology. Times have changes and Mercedes knows they can't leave a car the same for 10+ years anymore.

M

Guido1986

Germancar1....I see what your saying because there going to redesign the E-CLASS and the CLK in the next year soo the SL would have to get a facelift to be up with with other cars on the fleet...

Germancar1

Yep that is true. I too miss the days of the 10+ years of the same bodystyle, but the market says differently now. I'm actually glad they're keeping the R230 around for another 3 or so years because the basic design is classic IMO. I have trust in MB not to ugly it up for its final few years.

M

CY

I will probably be waiting for the all new SL which should come out in a few years....thats a car I have a feeling will be awesome and hopefully a bit longer. Until then I will have to taste the dark side....BMW.....

ho1105

Saw two driving on 405 Fwy in Los Angeles. It had the manufacturer's plate on with masks in the front and the back. The front thru the mask looked like the from of CLS. The back looks like the current version. Side without any masking looked exactly like the current version. I was driving so couldn't take photos. When I peeked into the interior, I was driving R-class, the illumination of the speedo and tach was brighter like the new S-class.