From the first moment you get into the SLS there's no escaping the improbably long nose. The nearest equivalent car I can think of that sits the driver so far from the front axle is the 2009 BMW Z4, but where that car's been described as a clown shoe, Pulitzer Prize-winning auto hack Dan Neil says the SLS looks like "a hairbrush." Unlike that car, the SLS is also wide (76 inches) so guiding it out of a parking lot is a daunting task, requiring placing the front wheels with guestimation versus vision. Open the hood and there's a good foot of clear space between the radiator and the airboxes mounted just in front of the engine. Good packaging this is not, but this long nose lends the understated super car the only visual drama it really has; the abbreviated cabin and low roof help to emphasize just what the big Merc is packing up front. The cabin is also further midship than it feels, with the relatively large 22-gallon tank sitting between the seats and the rear axle.

At speed, those awkward proportions cease to negatively impact the driving experience and the SLS actually manifests some steering feel, mostly felt over bumps and cat's eyes rather than in corners, but that's OK, because the car is heavily biased toward oversteer so it's only really the rear you need to feel. Actually, let's take a quick step back. The 9.5" wide front wheels wearing 265/35 low profiles and 11" rears with 295/30s don't really have an issue with grip. The problem is the 6.2-plus-change-liter (ignore the badges) V8 and its 571 HP just makes pushing the limits of what's possible way too easy.

Heavily modified over the standard AMG V8 that's in everything from the C63 to the S63, this M159 6.2-and-change (same capacity as all the other M156 engines) breathes much freer thanks to an all-new intake system, more aggressive valve timing, tubular steel headers and a de-throttled exhaust. It also switches to dry sump lubrication so the engine can be mounted lower in the chassis. In addition to that 571 HP at 6,800 RPM, it now develops 479 Lb-Ft of torque at 4,750 RPM, delivering the unique mix of high-revving power with low-RPM torque. That's also a healthy increase over the 525 HP the M156 normally develops and all it has to motivate is a 3,571 Lbs curb weight gull-winged bird of prey (703 Lbs lighter than the SL63 and 326 Lbs lighter than the SLR thanks to an aluminum chassis and body). Weight distribution is 47% front, 53% rear (unintuitive by look, but makes sense when you consider the aforementioned extra crumple zone space), aiding traction but still failing to overcome the fast-revving engine's ability to easily overcome the rear.

Driving an oversteer-biased car at a corner-biased track like Laguna Seca, like we did yesterday, is actually kind of refreshing. Where most cars would understeer into turn 2 and push the front around turn 11 and onto the back straight, the SLS is aggressively trying to step out the rear, even on a constant throttle. Credit for recovering the slides goes to the almost unbeatable stability control system. While you can push enough buttons to make it say "ESP-OFF", that doesn't fully shut down the system, with it still moderating acceleration-related wheelspin and re-engaging automatically the second you tap the brakes. While the SLS is a fast and engaging car even with all the nanny systems fully on, we of course mourn the loss of full driver control. My planned photo for the top of this review was a doors-up burnout, but sadly the car just wouldn't spin up the rear tires from a standstill.

That same system acts to control wheelspin on a hard launch, contributing to a manufacturer-reported 3.8-second 0-to-60 MPH time, eventually reaching a limited top speed of 197 MPH.

That engine also feels far more alive than in any other AMG application. It pops and burbles on the overrun and, mated to the seven speed dual clutch gearbox, is fast to rev and shift. It's also somewhat awkward in any of the three automatic modes, somehow always managing to be in the wrong gear, no matter the setting. The manual paddle shifter improves that, but compared to competitors, are a little slow to shift. Mercedes claims the transmission takes as little as 100 milliseconds to shift, but in practice it feels far slower, with a pronounced delay between a pull of the paddle and the transmission actually doing what you told it to.

The seven-speed rear-mounted transaxle is connected to the engine, as is the fashion these days, by a rigid torque tube containing a carbon fiber drive shaft. This arrangement maximizes the connection between the rear wheels and the engine, while minimizing the torque's impact on the handling and reciprocation mass.

I came into this drive expecting a luxury grand tourer that was also fast, but instead found a track-oriented super car that is also luxurious. On the road, the limitations of this incredibly fast car are relatively easy to reach, yet hard to live up to. It's also firmly sprung, always loud (both from road and engine noise) and fairly cramped. The SL63 would probably make an equally fast, yet more refined, spacious and comfortable road car, but the SLS would literally drive circles round that car on the track. Still, this combination of outright performance with extreme luxury is relatively rare. The 911 GT2 is harsh and edgy on the road, a 599 is way more expensive, as is the even-faster Lexus LFA. On the opposite end of the spectrum the Audi R8 does luxury a little better but track performance is a little less involving. At an estimate $200,000, the SLS carves a performance-oriented, luxury-capable niche all its own, something that's aided by the classy, restrained looks and the visual drama of the doors.

Is the Mercedes SLS AMG the fastest, most exciting super car on the market? No. Is it the most luxurious GT? Not by a long shot. Does it have significant flaws, most glaringly from the gearbox? Totally. But, fercrissakes, have you seen how sexy those Gullwing doors are when they pop open?

Which is more realistic?

Even though there hangs a faint air of retrograde desperation about the new Gullwing, with its signature design element a structural necessity on the 1952 racing original and a mere styling choice on the new car, it is a sight to behold in the flesh.

Yes, it may be nothing more than a sports car with a quirky door. But if you do shell out the quarter million dollars it will cost, you’ll end up with a Gullwing-ish car for half the price of a vintage 300SL.

With the added benefit of AMG’s fabulous 6.3-liter V8 and the relief of not having to care about what will soon be a 60-year-old car.

If you want to go for grungy race car looks, make sure you order yours with the matte black disguising elements seen on the leaked photos of test mules, complete with the bumps reminiscent of the skin of humpback whales.

And should you look real close at the picture on top, you will see yours truly in the Frankfurt mayhem, crammed up against the right door in a lobster red backpack, aiming a white telephoto lens at Lewis Hamilton and Dr. Z:

Hi Lewis!

Photo Credit: SASCHA SCHUERMANN/AFP/Getty Images, Mercedes-Benz, Gawid/autoscoop.biz, TORSTEN SILZ/AFP/Getty Images

You already know the design's supposed to be a new take on the iconic 300SL Gullwing. You already know what's under the hood — the same venerable M159 6.2-liter V8 engine we've seen in everything from the 2006 E63 AMG to the 2008 SL 63 AMG. Basically, everything that's got a "63" in the name. In fact, this will be the first vehicle using the M159 that will not have an off-displacement numeric indicator. Isn't that special?

We've even talked at length about the SPEEDSHIFT 7-speed dual-clutch semi-automatic transmission mated to the engine through a lightweight carbon fiber driveshaft. Heck, you've even seen the full interior before and know the spiritual successor to the most famous Merc ever does a 0-to-60 in about 3.7 seconds and it'll have a top speed of 197 MPH. What else is there left to show you? Oh right, the pictures. Check those out up top.

As for how it drives? You'll have to wait a wee bit longer for that.

So here's the scene. Mr. Siler's out on assignment in California and while awaiting a shuttle to the day's press event a quartet of camouflaged SLS's pull up and park, more or less begging to be photographed by the assembled press. Cue photographic onslaught. Most of what we can see has been widely publicized in the past. We've already seen official images of the interior and the first few shots of the car in it's entirety.

What's news here comes from a camouflage malfunction, which reveals one of the cars is in fact not a gullwing, but a convertible. Despite the zippered opening on the camo top, the fabric roof beneath is clearly visible. So in addition to the Frankfurt debut of the SLS Gullwing, we guess we're now expecting to see an SLS convertible as well. Those sneaky Germans.

So what is there to see in this leaked dealer guide we were handed by way of secure courier our tips e-mail? Well, from a performance perspective, the car will deliver as expected on the power front with a 6.3-liter V8 generating 563 HP and 479 lb-ft of torque, and it'll be mated to a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transaxle. Stopping comes from standard two piece cross-drilled rotors clamped by four piston calipers or an optional set of six piston carbon ceramic discs. On the interior front there are plenty of goodies including both Napa and designo leathers, various kinds of technological doo-dads, and some outrageous carbon fiber options in the "Special Section." Peruse the slide show at your leisure, you impoverished troglodytes. Our favorite is the $10,000 "Liquid Metal" paint job, we're hoping it's some kind of obnoxious factory chrome body available only in the middle east.

While it's still not clear exactly when the electric Gullwing will debut, it does look as if Mercedes is dedicated to bringing it to market, possibly much sooner than 2015, the date that was originally indicated to us.

This official diagram indicates exactly how Mercedes is working to make the center of gravity as low as possible, is ensuring the best possible weight distribution and is including the added benefit of AWD. Four electric motors are placed near the individual wheels they power, while batteries and associated electronics are packed into the now obsolete transmission tunnel and in the behind-the-seat space formerly occupied by the fuel tank. This setup has the added benefit of necessitating zero modifications to the sexy Mercedes SLS Gullwing bodywork that also leaked last week.

No details on the battery pack other than 40Ah capacity at 400V, but since the Mercedes S400 Hybrid is the first mass-production hybrid to use Lithium Ion batteries, we'd bet on the Electric SLS getting that technology too. Li-ion batteries are good for more cycles with more stability than NiMh or Li-Po units while weighing less. That means they'll last for more miles and, possibly, the lifetime of the vehicle.

Press Release:

Affalterbach – Mercedes-AMG is paving the way ahead: with the new SLS AMG with electric drive, the performance brand within Mercedes-Benz Cars is developing an exciting super sports car with zero-emission high-tech drive. This model sees Mercedes-Benz and AMG displaying their expertise in the development of alternative drive solutions for high-performance super sports cars, delivering further proof of their pioneering status in this market segment.
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMGwith electric drive transforms the vision of powerful and locally emission-free super sports cars into reality thanks to an innovative drive system: powerful forwards thrust is provided by four electric motors with a combined peak output of 392 kW and a maximum torque of 880 Nm. The four electric motors are positioned near the wheels, substantially reducing the unsprung masses compared to wheel-hub motors. One transmission per axle transmits the power. This intelligent all-wheel-drive system allows dynamically optimised power transmission without any losses by means of Torque Vectoring – in other words the specifically targeted acceleration of individual wheels. In its first pilot phase, the SLS AMG with electric drive incorporates a liquid-cooled high-voltage lithium-ion battery of modular design with an energy content of 48 kWh and a capacity of 40 Ah. The 400-volt battery is charged by means of targeted recuperation during braking whilst the car is being driven.
Acceleration from zero to 100 km/h in around 4 seconds
When it comes to dynamics, the electrically driven SLS AMGdelivers an unequivocal statement: the swing-wing model accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in around 4 seconds – putting it on the same high level as the SLS AMG with a 6.3-litre V8 engine developing 420 kW/571 hp.
"With the SLS AMG with electric drive, we wanted to redefine the super sports car. For us, it is not just about responsibility. We attach just as much importance to excitement and classic AMGperformance," says Volker Mornhinweg, Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
Optimum weight distribution and low centre of gravity
The purely electric drive system was factored into the equation as early as the concept phase when the new swing-wing model was being developed by Mercedes-Benz and AMG. It is ideally packaged for the integration of the high-performance, zero-emission technology: by way of example, the four electric motors and the two transmissions can be positioned near the wheels and very low down in the vehicle. The same applies to the modular high-current battery, whose modules are located in front of the firewall, in the centre tunnel and behind the seats. Advantages of this solution include the vehicle's low centre of gravity and the balanced weight distribution – ideal conditions for optimum handling, which the electrically powered SLS AMG shares with its petrol-driven sister model.
Key data at a glance:

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with electric drive
Max. output 392 kW
Torque 880 Nm
0-100 km/h Approx. 4 s
Rated capacity 40 Ah (at 400 V)
Energy content 3x 16 kWh = 48 kWh

The installation of the drive components required no changes whatsoever to the swing-wing model's aluminium spaceframe body. And there were just as few constraints when it came to maintaining the excellent level of passive safety and high degree of long-distance comfort that are hallmarks of Mercedes cars.
Strategic alliance for fast electrification of the car
The electrically powered SLS AMG sees Mercedes-Benz and AMGcontinuing to pursue their aim of minimising the amount of time it takes to bring about the electrification of the car. Their strategic involvement in Deutsche Accumotive GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture between Daimler AG and Evonik Industries AG, will provide the battery technology required in future. Daimler has the leading role in this joint venture for the development and production of batteries and battery systems for automotive applications.

Thanks to Autobild, we can now see the SLS Gullwing in profile with some of its interior shining through. For a fully detailed look at that gorgeous two-seat interior, check out our earlier coverage here and here. [autobild]

The original Mercedes 300SL was ahead of its time, offering peerless luxury and extreme performance that outpaced 1950s competitors. An electric SLS could perform a similar feat, becoming the first zero-emissions supercar to be produced by a major manufacturer.

Wolf Zimmerman, the engineer in charge of the vehicle's development, claims the SLS eDrive would accelerate to 62 MPH in less than four seconds and continue on to a top speed in excess of 120 MPH. Range will be between 93 and 112 miles depending on how it's driven.

Front suspension is being swapped from upright double wishbone to pushrods with coilovers to accommodate electric motors sitting close to each of the wheels. Each 133 HP motor will drive its own wheel, effectively mimicking the performance of a torque vectoring all-wheel drive system.

Off-the-line performance should compare favorably with the 571 HP, 479 Lb-Ft 6.2-liter V8 version, but the eDrive will obviously give up top speed to the gasoline-powered Mercedes SLS Gullwing.

Autocar suggests that the battery pack would be mounted in the transmission tunnel and behind the seats, where the fuel tank is located in the regular SLS. Sales could start as early as 2015. [via Autocar]

We'll update as soon as we hear more on the Brucegasmic modern throwback to the classic gullwing 300SL. [fourwheelnews]

Replacing the Mercedes AMG SLR as the top shelf offering from Mercedes, the SLS Gullwing is taking a page out of company history and aping the gull wing doors from the legendary 1954 Mercedes 300SL, but it's not looking back for much else. The interior takes inspiration from modern luxury jets, pretty much everything not covered in leather is raw carbon fiber or aluminum. We're really digging the row of buttons and knobs on the center console, though the 8000 RPM redline and 330 KPH (205 MPH) top speed marked out on the dials are pretty exciting too. The 571 HP V8 will mate to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with the option to row your own at the shifter or through the steering wheel paddles. The knob on the center console looks to be a suspension and tune control with four different setting. We can also see the doors will get a power close feature as their outfitted with a pair of linear actuators. Not too shabby a working environment if you ask us.

The car was built because when you're a billionaire and you got nothing better to do with your money, then why wouldn't you get the oldest auto company in the world to bastardize one of its most sought-after classics? The completely camouflaged car has been equipped with completely upgraded mechanicals including a 6.0-liter V8 and we're assuming an automatic transmission.

Some things money shouldn't be able to buy, like self-respect. We could understand if an outside tuner shop created this abortion, but for Mercedes to have a hand in this is just so wrong on so many levels. [HypeBeast]

Like all great stories in motor racing, Mercedes’s dominating debut is a story of timing, innovation and resurgence, with a healthy sprinkling of treachery on top. It began on a November day in 1953.

It was at the conclusion of the fourth season of Formula One, a mere eight years after the war situation in Europe had developed not necessarily to Germany’s advantage. Dominated by Alberto Ascari in his tiny Ferrari 500, the young sport was about to go through its third major rule change in four years: the 1954 season would drop the Formula Two regulations in place for 1952 and 1953 and dictate a maximum displacement of 750 cc for supercharged engines and 2,500 cc for naturally aspirated ones.

Mercedes-Benz, on the heels of their successful victory with the 300SL Gullwing in the Carrera Panamericana, decided to enter Formula One. The old team which ruled the European Grand Prix Championship with the supercharged Silver Arrows was back. Team manager Alfred Neubauer—the man who invented pit signaling—returned with his hat, trenchcoat and stopwatches, while London-born technical director Rudolf Uhlenhaut was tasked with creating a new car from scratch, codenamed W196 R.

And what a car it turned out to be! The engine a straight-eight, fuel-injected, naturally aspirated 2.5-liter marvel, with power taken off at the middle of the crankshaft, running on a cocktail of benzol, methylene, gasoline, acetone and nitro. It was driven by desmodromic valves—only seen today on Ducati motorcycles—which enabled higher revs than allowed by 1950s springs. The whole assembly was canted 37º to the right to make for a lower hoodline and a smaller frontal area. The car was wrapped in sheets of Elektron, an ultralight and very flammable alloy of magnesium.

By the time Uhlenhaut’s team was done, the 1954 season was already underway, with Juan Manuel Fangio racking up wins in the brand-new Maserati 250F. But the lure of the new Mercedes proved too hard to resist for the Argentine, and after winning two of the season’s first three Grands Prix, Fangio swapped his Maserati for a seat in the W196. After a 15-year absence, the stage was set for Mercedes-Benz’s debut on July 4 at the French Grand Prix, held at the ultra-fast circuit of Reims-Gueux.

Tweaking and testing continued even after Fangio and teammate Karl Kling—who had taken a vulture through the windshield of his 300SL Gullwing two years before in Mexico at 130 MPH—secured the first two positions in qualifying. Fuel consumption was higher than expected, and in a wonderful move, technical director Uhlenhaut hopped in his own Gullwing and raced it all the way to team headquarters in Stuttgart to have expanded fuel tanks manufactured overnight for the W196’s. No vultures were encountered on the Autobahn and at 2:45 the next afternoon, off went Fangio and Kling to begin the 300-mile race.

It was a massacre. The streamlined cars outpaced the rest of the field by 4 seconds a lap. As Fangio took the checkered flag half a car length ahead of Kling, they were the only two cars on the leading lap. Two Maseratis, two Ferraris and a lone Gordini driven by Jean Behra limped in long after them, the rest of the field decimated in the grueling race.

Incidentally, it was on this very day that Germany’s national squad beat what was perhaps the greatest football team ever in the finals of the 1954 World Cup: the Hungarian Aranycsapat, stopped in its tracks after an unbroken string of 33 wins.

The W196 would go on to win 8 of the next 11 races it was entered in. The streamlined body was replaced with an open-wheel version for the more technical circuits, and a young Stirling Moss joined Fangio for the 1955 season.

Mercedes-Benz also entered the car in sports car racing as the 300SLR, with an engine bored out to 3 liters, producing 300 HP. This was the car that carried Stirling Moss to his famous victory in the Mille Miglia—and which, a few weeks later, got catapulted into the crowd at Le Mans, where it became all too clear just how flammable that Elektron chassis was. Over eighty people perished in the flames, including racing driver Pierre Levegh.

The accident spelled the end of the W196 and its brethren. Neubauer withdrew the 300SLR’s from the lead several hours after the accident. At the end of the season, with Fangio claiming the Formula One World Championship in the W196 and the team taking the World Sportscar Championship in the 300SLR, Mercedes-Benz withdrew completely from motor racing.

Fangio would become World Champion two more times. His victories came in cars he had defeated in his Mercedes: the Lancia-Ferrari D50, and for his final championship in 1957, the very Maserati 250F he had abandoned three years previously for the W196.

The 300SLR lived on as Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s daily driver. It was made into a street-legal coupé which Uhlenhaut commuted to work with.

A hyper-Gullwing, capable of reaching speeds of 180 MPH in a sad, gray, post-war Europe, blasting down empty highways at warp speed, forever chasing a racetrack it would never set wheels on again.

On the other hand, it must have made for a memorable childhood for Uhlenhaut’s son Roger:

Photo Credit: Daimler AG, Autocar

Not 100% ready for its curtain call, Mercedes released images of its upcoming SLS AMG in a canvas bra and aluminum panties for the world to see most of the Bruce. Consider it a $0.25 gullwinged German peep show. It seems what was once considered to be the most Mad Max-looking prototype ever has transformed into a delicate little beat-your-ass flower as evidenced by the above photos.

Smaller in every dimension than the Mercedes McLaren SLR that it replaces, the SLS AMG features an all-new aluminum space frame that weighs in a full 300 lbs less than the SLR. The 3,571 lb SLS rides on a lengthy 105.5-inch wheelbase and has a front track that's is 1.2 inches wider than its rear.

The SLS' sexiness gets transferred to the street with a powerfully tuned version of AMG's 6.2-liter V8 pumping 563 HP through its veins at 6,800 rpm. Helping to make its carbon footprint seen is a healthy dose of 479 lb-ft of torque at 4,750 rpm with which it'll leave rubber bread crumbs all the way to grandmother's house. Sitting low in a mid-front engine configuration, the engine will spin all that power through a carbon fiber driveshaft back to the rear-mounted seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. No proper manual tranny will be offered.

Included in the package is a non-warranty voiding 'Race Start' launch control feature that will help propel the SLS AMG demon beast to a guaranteed 3.8-second 0-60 mph trap every time your whisper its name. Once your tray tables are away and seat backs are locked firmly in their upright position, the SLS AMG will be able to propel you to a terminal velocity of 196 mph and safely back to not, thanks in part to its six-piston caliper squeezed 15.4-inch discs out front and 14.2-inch four-piston grabbers out rear. That stopping power will turn into a guaranteed nose bleed when equipped with the optional carbon ceramic units.

Our curiosity is getting the best of us, although we'll never really be able to afford one on this highly lucrative sustainable blogging salary, so we asked Mercedes how much this gullwinged 300SL throwback would run us, you know, theoretically. They wouldn't stand firm on a price, but said that you should expect to pay at least €156,752. For those unencumbered by a desire for currency trading, that's $200,000 USD. Guess we'll only be able to afford one big-boy toy this year.