Mercedes-Benz SLS 2010 News

Europe is back in business, celebrating the end of the global financial crisis that rocked the car world and drove the biggest of them all - General Motors - into bankruptcy.There were green shoots of happiness at the Frankfurt Motor Show in late 2009, but this week's Geneva Motor Show shows the same sort of excitement and promise of an early spring morning in Europe.Every carmaker has something new in Geneva, from full-blown production models to quirky concepts. The Swiss show is often dismissed as a sideshow but this time, with 25 new models as diverse as the Nissan Micra and Porsche Cayenne, there is serious action on every front.Carmakers are predictably focussed on green solutions to meet the challenges of fuel economy and CO2 emissions - with Fiat even showing a tiny two-cylinder engine for its funkoid 500 - but there is also room for fun.  How else do you describe a Honda city concept that looks like a 20th-century take on the unicycles used by Circe du Soleil acrobats?But even the green machines have turned mean as Ferrari shows its 599 Vettura Labratorio hybrid, although BYD from China balanced things with its fully-electric E6 hatch.Porsche also has its 918 supercar concept and both it and the Ferrari tap Formula One technology with KERS hybrid packs - that's Kinetic Energy Recovery System - to store energy for a quick, explosive boost of extra power.Porsche plans to put the 918 into production but, as yet, Ferrari is only using the super-special 599 - painted symbolically in green instead of the Italian brand's signature red - as a rolling labratory.  "We want to understand how to use this technology. We are not yet at the point to see it in a road going Ferrari," says Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari's CEO.The upbeat mood at Geneva is captured by the top man at Bentley, Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen, who says the reaction to his company's Mulsanne and Supersports models has filled him with confidence after a shocking 2009.  "There is a feeling that it is behind us," Paefgen says as super-wealthy Bentley buyers emerge from their GFC-proof bunkers.Walking the stands at Geneva I see green machines that are more than just concepts and plenty of choices for small-car buyers, from budget hatches to baby prestige cars like the Audi A1.  The little Audi gets a rousing reception, Volvo wins praise for the safety and styling of the new S60 sedan and the Alfa Giulietta - replacement for the 147 - raises more questions about the often-promised renaissance for the brand.Lexus shows a compact new CT200h hybrid that brings petrol-electric power to a new group of buyers, Mini has the Countryman with extra ground clearance and the basics for a World Rally Championship challenge in 2011, and the Mitsubishi ASX crossover - test driven this week by Peter Lyon near Tokyo - heads the Japanese contingent.For Alfa fans, the Giulietta is pitched at the Volkswagen Golf with a range of 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines.  BMW’s new 5 Series and a 4-litre six-cylinder X5 diesel creates a predictable buzz among SUV fans.Kia’s head of design, Peter Schreyer, lifts the wraps off the stylish new Sportage, which is due in Australia later this year, with the promise of both turbodiesel and petrol engines, as well as front and all-wheel drive.  The Sportage could be major hit for the Korean brand, matching the impact of the Hyundai ix35, when it goes on sale with an opener in the sub-$30,000 bracket.Ford leverages the first European appearance of its new Focus hatch in Geneva by unveiling the Focus wagon, which at this stage is a Europe-only car. Europeans are big wagon buyers and the wagon is expected to account for one-third of all Focus sales there.But the Focus wagon is only the halfway point - the fifth of 10 proposed models - using the same basic building blocks and the future includes a Focus electric car. Currently, the wagon, hatch, sedan and C-Max and Grand C-Max all share the same underpinnings.“We are now using our global resources to develop cars for all countries, including Australia,” says Ford's technical chief, Derrick Kuzak.  He also reveals the current Europe-only Kuga compact SUV and North American Escape will be replaced by a single global car, which could head to Australia, and hints that a hot performance Focus with a more-powerful version of Ford’s 2.0-litre Ecoboost turbo engine will also be available in Australia.Lexus uses Geneva to showcase its critically important CT 200h hybrid, which it hopes to become a volume player.  But the CT 200h is not the only car to push the green theme at the affordable end.Hyundai has the stylish turbocharged 1.7-litre i-flow concept sedan, which uses a lithium-ion battery pack with six-speed dual-clutch transmission, and it is joined by the ix35 FCEV hydrogen fuel-cell car and Opel’s Flextreme GT-E.Apart from Ferrari, Porsche shows off its GT3 R Hybrid - also with KERS - and 918 Spyder, both exploring the outer limits of hybrid drivetrains for race and road cars.  The Cayenne, along with the VW Touareg, share their hybrid debuts as Audi uses the first appearance of its baby A1 to reveal a full-electric E-tron concept that joins earlier R8-based plug-in supercars.Apart from the conventional petrol and diesel A1, Audi also adds the RS5 coupe to its A5 lineup and a hybrid A8 sedan. The RS5 gets a powerful 335kW/430Nm 4.2-litre V8, quattro all-wheel drive and seven-speed S-tronic dual clutch gearbox.Like the BMW-built Mini, Audi has several distinctly styled A1s on its stand. It says owners will have access to so much customisation that no two A1s will be exactly the same.Audi has the Mini firmly in its sights with an expected starting price around $33,000 for the A1, with a three-door car to kick of sales with a five-door and cabrio expected. The range-topper is expected to be an S version with a performance-tuned turbo four cylinder engine.Citroen springs one of the few real surprises of the show with its hot-pink Survolt sportscar while Giugiaro teams up with Proton to deliver a stylish hybrid city car.  The Survolt is a pure design fantasy with no likely production expected. The showcar did not even have an engine and Citroen says it has been designed to go electric.Apart from the sleek Citroen, two Italian styling houses - Pininfarina and Bertone - have show cars based on Alfa Romeo mechanical parts. Bertone returns to Geneva for the first time in two years with the Pandion 2+2 concept coupe and Pininfarina shows the two-seater 2uettottanta.Apart from the twin concepts, Citroen has the DS3 Racing as well as its DS High Rider three door, a pointer to the next-generation C4, which is due to be launched next year as a five-door.  The company will only build 1000 versions of the DS3 racing and the head of local importer Ateco Automotive, Neville Crichton, says he would like to bring a few to Australia but will initially focus on launching the DS range.“It certainly is a good looking thing,” Crichton says.  Mercedes-Benz continues to create a buzz at Geneva with its SLS Gullwing supercar but the F800 Style, a pointer to the next-generation CLS minus its cantilever rear doors, dominates the Mercedes stand and shares the limelight with the E-Class cabriolet.Fitting in the quirky category in Geneva is Aston Martin’s Cygnet hatch, a remake of Toyota’s iQ city car. The $50,000 makeover model will only be sold to existing Aston Martin customers.  Aston Martin boldly has the Cygnet right next to its four-door flagship sports car, the Rapide.

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.

Since cars all deliver on the same basic promise of personal mobility, and many vehicles do it with incredible value and panache, good design can often make the difference between buying and losing.Ian Callum knows it and, after more than four decades of top-class design work on everything from HSV Holdens to Volvos, Aston Martins and now Jaguars, he is the right man to be talking. "This is a time of car design. It's not just styling any more. You really have to understand design, and the elements that make up a good design," Callum says. "We're also seeing a lot of change in the automotive world. The make-up of cars is changing. Designers are going to have an incredible influence."Callum has revolutionised Jaguar design over the past 10 years and just visited Australia to showcase his all-new XJ flagship, which steps right away from anything which has previously worn the brand's leaper mascot. "I didn't want to be a slave to heritage," he says simply.Callum believes good design is simple but incredibly difficult, elegant and timeless, but also challenging and filled with tiny little details. He is rare among designers because he backs his promises with commitment and talent, and is also happy to give an opinion.So, then, how does he judge the work from some of his rivals? Surprisingly, Callum is happy to go on the record with a simple tick-or-cross verdict on the latest designs in showrooms.Here are his ratings: Aston Martin Rapide - tickAudi A5 - tickBMW GT - two crossesBMW X6 - crossFerrari F458 Italia - tickHSV EII Commodore - tickLexus LFA - tickMercedes E-Class - crossMercedes SLS Gullwing - crossNissan GT-R - crossPorsche Panamera - crossRolls-Royce Ghost - tickToyota Prius - tickVolkswagen Golf - tick 

The baby-faced German proved it this year as he outpaced our Mark Webber while winning four grands prix for the Red Bull Racing team to take second in the world championship.  I watched Vettel doing his F1 stuff at Albert Park and every few weeks on the coverage of the world championship, but saw something different this week.This was off-duty Vettel, looking more like a 15-year-old kid than a grand prix superstar as he wandered into the pitlane at Laguna Seca raceway in California with his girlfriend.  I was there to drive the new Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS, while Vettel was doing a drive-by on his friend Bernd Schneider, a multiple German touring car champion who is now an AMG ambassador and was doing pace-car work during track laps in the Gullwing.It didn't take long before Vettel was also hot-lapping the SLS, sliding it sideways onto the start-finish straight with his girlfriend in the passenger seat. There was no chance for an interview, but he seemed relaxed and 'normal' during a brief chat.Then it was back to work and I jumped into the SLS and lined up behind Schneider for my final laps at one of the world's most-enjoyable racetracks. He was pushing harder this time and it was fun to watch him at the same time as trying to learn about the limit in the SLS.Then a silver car pulled out of the pitlane ahead of us. Schneider's right foot went all the way down and we were in a four-car dogfight, with MOTOR magazine editor Andrew MacLean making up the formation.  You guessed it. The car in front was Vettel.Now Schneider was going for it, as the two ace racers put on an incredible show. It's something I will never forget, because I was there too. Not as quick as them, but still able to hang onto their tails and see how it's done.  Vettel was sideways and fast, Schneider was reeling him in. I was being towed along.Then we pulled into the pitlane and there were smiles all round. The Gullwing is a great car, as you can read later in today's Carsguide, but those laps will always be among the most memorable in my career.When Vettel becomes world champion, as he must, I can always say I raced him once at Laguna Seca. He won't remember me, or the day, but I will.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

A droptop SLS is definitely in the product program at the AMG hothouse that created the new supersports coupe and there are strong pointers also to an extreme Black Series model.  Both are a couple of years away but Mercedes-AMG director, Kai Marten, is not denying they will come."The car has a lot of possibilities, so we will have an intensive internal discussion. In the next year we will decide if there is anything or not," Marten says.  But press him on the convertible and he comes clean.  "At the moment we haven't decided a time schedule for the convertible. But you can be sure we will not do it next year. You can expect it in one or two years," Marten admits.  The rigid structure of the SLS coupe is a pointer to a car which will be no slower without a roof and a little more luxurious. Given the space in the basic body, it is almost certain to be have a canvas roof and not a clamshell-style coupe-convertible top."We have a very rigid structure also in the convertible. It's on a very good level for other convertibles," says Marten.  "And, of course, we prepared this version during the development phase. Therefore the changes we had to do are very little."He is a little more guarded on the subject of a Black Series SLS, which would follow similar top-end tweaks on the SLK, SLK and SL, but admits there is "still some potential" in both power and weight cuts for an extreme Gullwing.  "Customers should always get what they want. If you would decide to do so then, yes, there could be some changes. But at the moment we didn't decide this."If we think about a special sort of model then it would be perhaps be a Performance Studio model, or perhaps not. Normally we call them Black Series editions.  "At the moment there are no plans. But there are always a lot of ideas."

Announced only last month, Mercedes-Benz dealers now hold 15 orders for the newest Benz supercar, the SLS.The car arrives next June with priced from around $500,000. Mercedes-Benz spokesman, David McCarthy, says the company is confident of selling about 70 in the first 12 months. "We are expected to get about 50 cars minimum," he says. "The inquiry has been strong and the demand has been unbelievable."Mercedes-Benz plans to build about 12,000 SLSs over five years. Like the 1950s Mercedes SL coupe, the SLS has upward opening gullwing doors that, like the front-end styling, take their inspiration from the classic coupe. However, the 21st-century gullwing has an aluminium space-frame body, 420kW V8 set just ahead of the two seater

We have seen hybrid cars, supercars, electric cars and even a tiny three-seat city runabout from Gordon Murray in Britain, a man who made his name and fame designing world championship winning grand prix cars for Brabham and McLaren. What's most surprising is that the Frankfurt show does not begin until the back end of next week. Still, that has not stopped the world's carmakers doing major teases and even major previews ahead of the official opening of Europe's biggest car show of 2009. This week we have first pictures and details of the Mercedes-Benz SLS, while BMW Group has already revealed its plug-in diesel-electric hybrid concept car and shown the Mini coupe it will soon put into production. We have also had teasers on an electric Audi R8 and some special green cars from Volkswagen, and even a Peugeot version of Mitsubishi's plug-in iMiEV, which will become Australia's first commercially-available electric car before the end of the year. It's big news and surprising stuff at a time when the world is still crawling back from the global economic meltdown and the organisers of the Tokyo Motor Show in October - which traditionally tries to trump Frankfurt - are talking-down their 2009 event. Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

Mercedes-Benz has just confirmed a battery-powered version of its SLS supercar, also known as the gullwing, and Peugeot is sharing the technology in the upcoming Mitsubishi iMiEV.But the biggest questions on the electric front are still hanging — how and where will these plug-in cars get their power? "It's a chicken-and-egg question. The trend to electrification is clearly there. But what we are focussed on is the barriers to adoption," says Ben Keneally, head of external affairs at Better Place Australia.He predicts a major breakthrough in the coming week when Better Place announces a new development to link drivers to the charging and battery-change network it is planning, firstly in Norway and Israel and then in Australia."We've really got the positioning around being able to deploy hundreds of thousands of charge points around the place. We're looking to bring that together with the software. It's the network of charge spots and switch stations. It's not just about location, it's about the mode of charging the battery."Better Place is promising big things and Keneally believes the pieces are coming together, although there are plenty of boxes still to be ticked in Australia. "Once we have Israel up and operating we are a long way to getting 100 per cent here. You cannot underestimate the demonstration effect," he says.And the Better Place strategy includes a targeted approach to converting people to electric cars. "With two-car households we'll be targeting one of the cars as a start. With any sort of disrutive technology you have to build people's confidence. And that's part of our plan." The next pieces of that puzzle will be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week. It promises to be an interesting presentation.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

The first official flight of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG begins this week, although it will not reach cruising altitude until production reaches top gear next year following a preview on the opening day of the Frankfurt Motor Show in a fortnight.The German supercar is already confirmed with a soaring pricetag beyond $500,000 and now Benz has revealed the road-ready car and its full technical specification.The obvious highlight is the upward-opening 'gullwing' doors that - like the front-end styling - take their inspiration from the classic Mercedes SL coupe of the 1950s. But the 21st century gullwing is a thoroughly modern machine with an aluminium space-frame body, a 420 kiloWatt V8 engine set just ahead of the two-seater cabin, 19-inch front and 20-inch rear alloys, and AMG's first seven-speed dual-clutch manu-matic transmission.Much of the early talk about the gullwing — no-one seriously expects it to be called the SLS - is about the styling, from the unique doors to the fifties-inspired air intakes and the muscular way the body is wrapped around the wheels. But the GLS is an AMG road rocket and that means it is a genuine supercar with a top speed which has to be held back to 317km/h and a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.8 seconds. In some ways the SLS AMG is a successor to the McLaren-Mercedes SLR, but it is around one-third of the price and is a full-on Benz production, not a collaboration with its Formula One partner."The obvious difference is that the SLS is available in right-hand drive. So we have an allocation of 50 cars in the first year, in a total production run of around 1200 cars," says David McCarthy, spokesman for Mercedes-Benz Australia."One thing the SLR demonstrated was technology, and it was a step along the road to this car. The SLR was a joint effort, but the SLS is entirely a product of AMG and Mercedes, so it's one company. It's a demonstration, more than anything else, of what the company can do."Customers are already lined up in Australia for the first gullwings, which are expected to land in the first quarter of next year and to feature at the exclusive AMG drive day held at Albert Park on the Australian Grand Prix circuit. "Yes, we are holding sizeable deposits on the car. We have orders currently for five cars and we think the biggest problem is that our allocation will not be big enough," McCarthy says. "We do not have the final price yet but it will be competitive in the class. Companies like Ferrari and others make supercars, but we're talking a production run of around 1200 cars and that's pretty serious numbers."Mercedes spent a lot of time ensuring the gullwing is both fast and refined, a major criticism of the track-tuned SLR. It still weighs 1620 kilograms and the seats are only 369mm above the road, but the seat backs are made from magnesium, there is a useable glovebox and a Bang&Olufsen surround sound system. "It is unmistakably a Mercedes. There is an awful lot of 300SL in the design, but it is not a copy. It is a homage, but it moves the history along," says McCarthy."When we specified the cars there were two items we've made standard - the fitted car cover and the trickle charger. It means the car can sit in the garage and be ready for instant action."Carsguide will have a first drive of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in November. For more pictures and full details of the car go to www.carsguide.com.au 

But two Australian buyers have already joined the queue for the Mercedes-Benz SLS gullwing, sight unseen, putting deposits on the $500,000-plus supercar. The SLS, which pays homage to the 1950s Gullwing 300SL, is expected to be unveiled at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.Mercedes-Benz Australia expects global demand for the SLS to be greater than the planned production output. "We want to maintain exclusivity," Mercedes-Benz Australia managing director passenger cars, Horst von Sanden, says.The SLS will not be as expensive as the million-dollar McLaren Mercedes, but its $500,000 plus price-tag will ensure it remains a rare sight on Australian roads.Von Sanden expects the SLS, with its distinctive gullwing doors, to be a magnet for collectors. "It's that type of car," he says. "For many customers it is a collectors car and the build volume will be limited globally to reflect that." The SLS is the first supercar developed in-house by the AMG performance division.More details about the Ferrari-beater are surfacing daily. It makes extensive use of alloy for its body and chassis to keep its weight down to around 1600kg.The car's United States dealership guide shows it will feature a mid-front mounted 6.3-litre hand-built V8 AMG engine developing 420kW/650Nm. The engine's mid-front mounting position helps deliver a 48/52 front to rear weight balance.The AMG tuned engine gives the car a top speed of 315km/h and it will rocket to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds. The V8 will be mated to a standard AMG seven-speed dual clutch transmission and limited slip differential.Among the features expected are keyless-start, auto-dimming mirrors and dual zone climate control, rear view camera's, daytime running lights, six-disc CD changer with MP3 connectivity and a 40GB satellite navigation system. US buyers can also individualise their cars.Several different standard leather trims will be available and carbon fibre trim is on the list for $5500. Throw carbon fibre side mirrors into the list and these will set you back $6200. A carbon fibre engine cover is $6600. If that is not enough, buyers can also spend another $11,000 to fit out the cabin with more carbon fibre for the sills and seat surrounds.A comprehensive Bang & Olufsen 10 speaker, 1000 watt speaker system is also offered for $7800. Other options include an AMG suspension upgrade for $1900. Carbon ceramic brakes will cost $16,000.