rmorin49

I'm sure we'll see lots of high tech in the new SL. All the latest bells and whistles but unfortunately for a lot of us it won't be what we want to drive. At 70 I figure I'll keep my '15 for 3 years and trade for a '19 or '20. That will last me until I move to an old man's E Class.

Germancar1

You guys do realize that the SL started out more of a sports car and now the old man cruiser that it is now right? I don't think they've forgotten their audience, the "audience" has left the building as per the sales numbers. The SL has to evolve or it will die off. The car is hopelessly, if charmingly outdated at this point, a C-Class Cabriolet has more tech on board, but I get it. The SL was always the Mercedes that many people aspired to own. The look of the current car was a disaster on day one, the facelift helped, but didn't totally fix it. The R129 SL from 1990-2002 was pure grace, ridiculously robust engineering, innovative and built like a bank vault. When it was introduced in 1990 it was also a tech marvel. The 2003 R230 was even more gorgeous, if not built the same, but it was hugely popular with its new folding hard top and airy interior. Then the market has changed and the current car's looks didn't help. I was set to buy one when it debuted, but went with a BMW because I couldn't digest the look. Hopefully Mercedes will restore the SL to it's proper place for 2021 with a stunning design inside and out, tech and performance. The engineering and quality of the current SL smacks you the minute you open the door, it feels expensive as a Mercedes should, but the look killed it in an already shrinking market segment.

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eddieo45

odd that the R&T article you link does NOT mention the SL; the C&D article the photo comes from is likely a better read.

C280 Sport

From a business point of view (Mercedes is a business) it kills me to say that you are 100% correct. From a car lover's point of view, I would hate to see the SL go back to a soft top. Also, having crazy tech that takes away from the luxury factor that is is and having huge screens. I agree I think the audience has left and $120,000 is a lot to spend on a car. Many people want the best car their money can buy. For $120,000 there are many more sporty, faster, cooler cars compared to the SL. 911, ZR1, GTR, AMG, M, Audi, ECT. Even used exotics. However, for me. Nothing matches the quality and attention to detail of the SL or even the comfort. Performance and wow factor that is not the SL strong point but ok by me.

rorywquin

My son has the new (2019) E53 AMG and personally, I find the "interior technology" very tacky - air vents and interiors that change colour when temperature is changed etc are pointless. There is so much technology for the sake of it. The screen that looks like an afterthought stuck onto the dash just plain ugly. In right hand drive cars the touch pads (on driver's left) add little value for right handed people, I don't need to open my car with my phone etc. .

I cannot imagine what technology they could add to my car to make it a more pleasing place to be.

For my tastes, the 2022 SL looks fabulous (with the roof open) but being a soft top will spoil it. One of the things I love about the SL (and the SLK I had before the SL) is that it feels like two different cars with the roof up and down.

Germancar1

The 2022 SL is just a render at this point. No one truly knows how it will look yet unless you've been to a customer clinic.

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Germancar1

I believe the next one will nail it. I mean for me the greatest Mercedes' ever made in modern times were the W126 S_Class, W124 E-Class and the R129 SL. Things change though. The next S will have the big screen like a Tesla, but I'm not sure about the SL. There won't be as much interior space so maybe they will come up with an more bespoke solution. Design, size wise I think we'll see an SL fashioned after a car like the new Ferrari Roma with pretty much useless rear seats, but a beauty. I hate to see the S Cabriolet go, but it and the SL will become one in the next round so I'm looking for some really special from Mercedes-Benz. Something with the luxury of a Bentley and the tech that Mercedes is known for. The new Flying Spur smacks you with luxury and craftsmanship first, tech second. It would be nice if the SL did it that way, instead of the other way around, which is where the S-Class seems to be headed.

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rorywquin

Problem is the price of the entry level Bentley is more than double that of the SL - so you pay for what you get.

How long does it take from having a rendering to production? A 2022 model will go on sale in 2021 and possibly make it's debut at the 2020 car shows?

Germancar1

That is true. The Bentley lets you know from the moment you walk up to it, what you're paying for. That said, Mercedes can still blend/balance the tech and craftsmanship in the same way, just not as fancily as Bentley does.

The latest rumor is that a concept will debut at the Paris auto show in Sept 2020 with the production car sometime after that. I'd say March 2021 at Geneva we should know. Mercedes has the new S-Class, E-Class facelift and new C all due before then. Fingers crossed. The new Lexus LC500 Convertible just fired a shot over the bow of the SL IMO.

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places

One main difference is th hat Bentley is luxury first tech second, while MB Is tech first and luxury second. Bentley clearly makes it known that getting the luxury right is the priority.

Rockinrob

You're correct Eddie045...the link is no longer available. I tried to revisit that link and could not find it. The SL is not mentioned. at all ...it was a Car & Driver render photo used in a road and track site that no longer exists...I cannot explain..anyway...Happy Thanksgiving everyone!...

Germancar1

It was a years old render that's why. It's totally irrelevant.

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eddieo45

uhh, the links live on and the sites exist. the mystery is why one would upload a photo from a Car and Driver article and accompany it with link to an unrelated Road and Track article, and do it in not one but two MBWorld threads. that the "render" is "years old" is irrelevant and not the point, and it's certainly not "why" one cannot find the links.

Here's the Road and Track article that doesn't mention the SL at all:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-car...-2020-driving/

Here's the Car and Driver article with the "years old render" (slide 17):
https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...-2020-to-2025/

The Car and Driver article is from September 14, 2019, and it links a July 7, 2019 C&D article (https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a2...adster-future/) that ran the same Ben Summerell-Youde illustration that first appeared here on October 1, 2018, about 14 months ago:
https://www.autocar.co.uk/slideshow/...edes-benz-sl#9

Germancar1

Much ado about nothing but an old render. Don't see the point of even talking about it any more.

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rorywquin

No harm in a bit of speculation.

Rockinrob

Eddio45:
Thanks for providing the correct link that contained the older rendering. I obviously copied the wrong link. My bad. .. After posting the rendering,
I thought it might be better to start a new thread. I didn't want anyone to think I was "hijacking" their post.. that's why you see it twice.

eddieo45

yet you are.....

Germancar1

Nah I'm not, you all were.

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eddieo45

not at all; the illustration was the least interesting part of this thread for me. I'm not a ragtop guy, so I'm not following whatever the new design is. I ound the idea of linking the R&T article with the C&D photo interesting, as it's hard enough to do on purpose, never mind by accident. The age of the illustration has nothing to do with one's inability to click the link though.....

Germancar1

Well my friend I don't know what to tell you, the folding hardtop era is over. It's too heavy and costly for most carmakers today. Much cheaper to do a soft top now.

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Streamliner

But it ALWAYS WAS cheaper and I guess that’s part of the point here: The SL should be a “halo” car for MB, with nothing but the best of everything, weight to a certain extent and cost be damned! The AMG GT line is a great Porsche & Ferrari fighter, but the SL should stand alone, as “THE” premier, 2-seat, luxury convertible. The retractable hardtop SHOULD be a big part of that equation. Obviously, this IS all just my opinion.

rmorin49

And the brand new C8 Corvette has a folding hardtop so it isn't completely dead.

Germancar1

Yep and Chevy is reportedly losing 20K on each one they sell. The Germans don't run their business like that.

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Germancar1

Get ready, shocking............I agree lol. Thing is though the sales numbers have made Mercedes rethink the SL. If people bought the current SL in the same numbers as the previous one they would stay the course with that.

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rmorin49

Fake news. GM/Chevy did not report this. Base models have minimal profit but most are being ordered with lots of options upwards of $80k and no discounts off MSRP. GM is not in the business of losing money any more than the Germans.