Mercedes has a long tradition of making high-end driver’s cars, with the roots stretching back to the iconic 300 SL of the 1950s. Some of that DNA was transposed into the SLS that succeeded the SLR, otherwise developed with help from McLaren.
Officially christened the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, as the Affalterbach brand had yet to be fully absorbed by the three-pointed star back then, it came to life at the Sindelfingen factory in Germany between 2010 and 2014 and was offered in two body styles: coupe with the famous gullwing doors and roadster.
Anyone and their pet can instantly recognize it among a plethora of supercars, regardless if they’re addicted to petrol fumes or not. It has an elegant nose, with the simple Mercedes grille that sports a single horizontal bar, headlamps positioned further up, and a very long hood that ends in front of the windscreen. There are no crazy wings and over-the-top inserts anywhere, and even the tailpipes were nicely incorporated into the rear bumper. The front fenders are decorated with the usual vents and emblems, and it came with normal-sized alloys.
With room for two, the cockpit sends retro-ish vibes by today’s standards, and this writer would tell you that everything has aged like a fine wine. From the steering wheel and multitude of buttons, knobs, and switches, to the overall shape of the dashboard panel, air vents separated in the middle by the incorporated infotainment system, gear selector, and traditional gauges.
Since it is basically a mix between a traditional supercar, albeit one with a front mid-engine layout, hence the very long hood, and a luxurious grand tourer, the usual amount of comfort features is on deck, including fine leather upholstery with double stitching, dual-zone climate control, and comfy seats with generous side bolstering.
Photo: Instagram | tedoradze.giorgi
The ‘6.3’ emblem still made some sense on the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, with emphasis on the word ‘some,’ because it didn’t feature a 6.3-liter engine, but a 6.2-liter one. The V8 came in various configurations, pumping out 563 hp (571 ps/420 kW) in the normal SLS AMG, and 583 hp (591 ps/435 kW) in the SLS AMG GT. The SLS AMG Black Series had much more than that available on tap, with the eight-cylinder unit making 622 hp (631 ps/464 kW).
And just for kicks, we will remind you that Mercedes also launched a zero-emission version of the car long before such models were considered cool, and it was known as the SLS AMG Electric Drive, boasting 740 hp (751 ps/552 kW). This electron-sipping beast had four electric motors, one driving each wheel, and a 60 kWh battery pack that gave it a range of roughly 160 miles (~260 km).
Needless to say that the board of directors at Mercedes and the engineers had a clear view of the future back then, but they ended up being criticized for the Mercedes-AMG GT that followed. You see, not only it was smaller than its iconic predecessor, but it was also less powerful in the beginning. Gone were the gullwing doors too from the coupe, which received traditional hinges mounted on the A-pillars.
Mind you, they did manage to make enthusiasts notice it more when they unveiled the Black Series in mid-2020, whose flat-plane crank bi-turbo V8 churns out an impressive 720 hp (730 ps/537 kW), or some 100 hp more than the SLS Black Series. While you are reading these lines, the German auto marque is working on the second generation GT, which will share its nuts and bolts with the latest SL roadster, and is bound to receive some smaller powertrains, too, besides the V8 that will allegedly live on.
This has gotten us thinking, what if instead of continuing the AMG GT tradition with a new generation, they decided to revive the SLS moniker? They could have quite easily done that by slightly increasing the proportions of the upcoming GT, giving it a boxier shape, and gullwing doors once again. For firepower, they could have turned to the plug-in hybrid assembly of the GT 63 S E Performance, which mixes the twin-turbo V8 with an electric motor fed by a 6.1 kWh battery.
The total output stands at 831 hp (843 ps/620 kW), and with everything working together, it has over 1,033 pound-feet (1,400 Nm) of torque available via the loud pedal. With some clever engineering, we reckon that a hypothetical modern-day SLS packing this drivetrain could hit 60 mph (97 kph) in some 2.5 seconds, thus being much quicker than the current Black Series.
We’re obviously not the only ones wishing for a return of the mighty SLS, as so is tedoradze.giorgi on Instagram, who sketched it out using modern design cues. The digital illustrations are accompanied by side-by-side comparisons with the real SLS, and we’ve got to admit that with a little bit of extra work, the result would be bedroom poster material.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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