A Worthy Successor

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There are few cars that have a design feature that is as recognisable as the car itself, and probably none more-so than the 1955 300SL coupe with its Gullwing doors.

The Mercedes SLR McLaren was the first car to pay a homage to this feature, however it was the Mercedes-AMG SLS that is a true successor to the 300SL, and made it a defining feature that drastically carved the car out from the others of its era.

The first standalone car that was not based on a production model, the SLS AMG holds a special place in the Mercedes catalogue of greats and will surely go down as one of the most iconic cars of the 21st century. With a completely clean sheet, and all the resources at hand of one of the worlds most successful car manufacturers, the team at AMG knew that the SLS had to be a company and an era defining car.

Calling on the venerable 6.2 litre M156 V8 engine as the basis, there were so many modifications done that AMG decided to issue the SLS its own engine code and called it the M159. With over 120 modifications (not least of which being dry-sump lubrication), the M159 kicked out a bellowing 420kw and 650nm and sent power to the rear wheels through its bespoke AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed dual-clutch transaxle.

All this power meant a 0-100 time of 3.8 seconds before going onto a top speed of 315km/h, however brute force and performance numbers don’t tell the whole story. The SLS was also designed as a formidable corner carving machine as well as a long legged grand tourer. Much like its 300SL forebears, the SLS has content crushing capability as well as the aptitude to provide serious thrills when the road tightens up and the corner radius sharpens.

There are so many cliches in the motoring journalism arsenal that over time they lose their potency, not least of which when they are applied to a car that perhaps doesn’t deserve the description it’s given. With the SLS, I can’t however think of a car that deserves the moniker “an iron fist in a velvet glove” more. Once described by Jeremy Clarkson as “the thinking mans supercar”, even some 14 years later it still looks just right. The SLS AMG also won a number of design awards, including the 2010 red dot "best of the best" award, the iF product design award 2010 for the "Transportation Design" category, and the Auto Bild Design Award 2010 as "Europe's most attractive car". It is also the only automobile to have won the gold Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany.

This particular example is in the most desirable and collectible colour combination of Iridium Silver metallic over Classic Red. With just 24,960 kilometres on the odometer from new, this gorgeous SLS will no doubt be rewarding as both a scintillating drivers car (with an exhaust note to die for) and an appreciating automotive art asset.