Spy shot Mercedes-Benz SLS Cabrio

Most likely it will be an SLS Cabrio.  That is the thinking from most people, anyway, as Mercedes-Benz accelerates its SLS supercar program with testing and development of the droptop model of the born-again coupe.

The convertible is caught this week during testing in Lapland, an unlikely location for an open-air speedster which will be most at home on the Riviera in Europe and cruising through the sunshine in California and Miami.  But Benz has big plans for the SLS lineup and winter work is essential to ensure the reliability and durability of the Cabrio package, as well as the heating and sealing of the updated cabin package.

The test car was caught by Carparazzi at 11 in the morning, even though the deep-winter conditions mean it never really gets light and it is impossible to make out all the detail.  With the temperature down at minus 30, the Mercedes-Benz engineers still have plenty of fun sliding around a frozen ice lake in the deep Arctic.

Carparazzi says the mechanical package for the SLS Cabrio will be unchanged from the Gullwing coupe, including its V8 engine and seven- speed twin-clutch gearbox, but the open-air conversion is down with a folding canvas roof - to protect boot space - with electric controls. 

Access to the cabin should also be easier than the Gullwing, which demands you put your legs in first before sliding across into the seat, even though it retains the wide door sills from the coupe.  Carparazzi predicts a first public appearance for the SLS Cabrio at the first major European motor show of 2011, at Geneva in Switzerland.