MERCEDES goes loud and light with all-new SL.
The baby boomers are set to thump the "doof-doof" generation. The all-new Mercedes-Benz SL features two massive bass speakers mounted into the aluminium chassis in the front footwell for maximum bass output.
Benz boss Dieter Zetsche describes the sports car as "a concert hall on wheels".
With up to 12 speakers and an optional 900-watt Bang & Olufsen audio system, it should blow the opposition away.
The SL will arrive in Australia before the end of the year and, according to local Mercedes spokesman David McCarthy, there will be "little or no change" in price. The current model ranges from $242,780 to $519,250.
McCarthy says Australia will get a full four-vehicle range, V6 and V8, plus AMG V8 and V12.
The oldest car in the Mercedes-Benz family is the first mass-production model to feature a chassis and body made almost entirely of aluminium.
At 140kg less than the previous model, it lives up to the SL nameplate, which stands for "super lightweight" and began in the 1950s with a tubular steel frame.The folding hardtop roof is 15kg lighter and made mainly of magnesium. The only steel is in strategic positions such as around the windscreen for crash protection.
The chassis is also 20 per cent stiffer, making the SL more agile. The sports car has not yet been crash-tested but SL boss Uwe Erntsberger believes it will earn a maximum five stars.
The aluminium structure technology will find its way into other Benz models, he says, starting with the 2014 E-Class, which will be about 200kg lighter.
The frame has not been engineered for electric powertrains although "hybrid is possible but not yet tested".
The weight saving shows up in better fuel economy, lower emissions and claimed improved agility. Fuel economy is further improved by a stop-start function and an optimised seven-speed transmission.
The new V8 displaces 80cc less at 4663cc but the bi-turbo has 12 per cent more power (320kW) and 32 per cent more torque (699Nm). Zetsche claims the V8 has the power of a V12 but the economy of a V6. He says the SL will continue the model's 60-year tradition of being a benchmark for the brand.
The new SL is also a tour de force of technology. It has a system that detects driver weariness, an optional "Magic Sky" glass roof that turns from clear to opaque at the touch of a button and automatic boot opening and closing with the wave of a hand.
Source: adelaidenow.com.au
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