Mercedes-Benz Offers Glimpse of Eighth-Gen AMG Roadster

Mercedes-Benz’s AMG performance car division releases a series of images of the new eighth-generation SL ahead of its official unveiling and a planned start to North American sales later this year.

The reborn roadster, codenamed R232, is set to square off against the Porsche 911 Cabriolet and Aston Martin Vantage with a new aluminum spaceframe body structure known under the working title Modular Sport Architecture, key elements of which are shared with the upcoming second-generation Mercedes-AMG GT.

The two cars have been conceived and developed alongside each other in a move aimed at amortizing development and procurement costs, while creating additional economies of scale in production and servicing operations across each model line.

But while the next AMG GT will be produced in both coupe and roadster body styles and retain its two-seat layout, the new SL returns as a roadster only and with a 2+2 seating layout meant to provide it with more everyday versatility than its predecessor.

Underlining an intention to give it a more sporting image inspired by its motorsport involvement, Mercedes-Benz confirms the new model will break from tradition and be sold exclusively under the AMG brand name.

The latest images depict a number of different SL prototypes undergoing cold-weather testing in Sweden and highlighting two different roof options. Mercedes-AMG says the latest on-road testing supplements an extensive virtual simulation development program.

Although still camouflaged, styling similarities between the new SL and its AMG GT sister model are clear. Both share the same basic silhouette with a long probing hood and a cabin set well back from the front axle line, giving it more traditional sports car proportions than the seventh-generation model launched in 2011.

Further similarities are evident at the rear, where the new SL features a rather short, sloping trunklid. It carries a large spoiler which deploys in various steps to increase downforce at speed.

Like the existing first-generation AMG GT roadster, the new Mercedes-AMG also adopts a folding fabric roof for the first time since the fifth-generation model ceased production in 2001.

For the past 20 years, the SL has used a folding aluminum hardtop. The new model returns to its roots with a fabric-covered structure featuring a glass rear window that folds and stows within a dedicated space above the fuel tank at the rear.

The changes continue inside, where the two-seat layout of the last two generations of the SL is replaced by a more spacious 2+2 arrangement with small rear seats placed ahead of the rear bulkhead.

Mercedes-AMG SL roadster (2)

Official details are yet to be revealed, though suggestions are the SL will have a slightly longer wheelbase than the upcoming second-generation AMG GT to accommodate the rear seats.

Among the mild-hybrid engine options will be a turbocharged 2.0L 4-cyl., turbocharged 3.0L inline 6-cyl. and twin-turbocharged 4.0L V-8 in SL43, SL53 and SL63 4Matic+ EQ Boost models, respectively.

Mounted low down and well back in the new SL’s engine bay to provide it with a much lower center of gravity than the existing model, all engines will come mated to a standard 9-speed MCT Speedshift gearbox engineered by AMG with steering wheel-mounted shift paddles and a range of driving modes.

The SL will break with tradition in other areas, too: Alongside the standard rear-wheel drive, the new model is set to offer a fully variable 4Matic all-wheel-drive system on selected models for the first time in its 70-year history.

Also planned for the new roadster is a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. It mates the twin-turbocharged 4.0L V-8 with an electric motor housed within the rear axle and a lithium-ion battery in a headlining SL73 4Matic+ EQ Power model that is claimed to develop up to 800 hp.

Following an end to winter testing in Sweden, Mercedes-AMG says the next development phase for the SL will concentrate on its dynamic setup at the Nürburgring circuit in Germany.

“Mercedes-AMG will be ensuring that this latest interpretation of the SL draws even more than ever on its sporting roots,” the company says in a statement.