German Car Forum

I'm sorry, but that argument is total BS. If they wanted to sell that much cars, they would make a car that they think will sell that much. if that is not the case, the car is a faillure as it doesn't even reach half the expected salestarget. It's as simple as that.

They were a bit over optimistic with the sales. Heck even the spectacular CGT didn't reach it's sales goals. Like I have said before, the beauty in buying an overly expensive car is that you'll be one of the very few people with it and if the manufacture sell too many enthusiast will be turned off. It's as simple as that.

Ferrari is probably the manufacturer who know how to sell super cars. The demand for their cars are crazy but yet they choose to produce only a small number of them.

Ferrari F50: 349 cars
Ferrari Enzo: 399 cars

Ferrari is profitable too, so they know what they are doing. As far as I am concerned, there is very little argument in building a car, supercar or not, if it is not going to do something to the bottom line of the company. No responsible board of directors would authorize a project if the project did not have positive overall cash flow, whether the latter is achieved through profit or R&D write-off, or whatever other way creative accounting comes up with.

As for the argument that the SLR is not exclusive enough, I am sorry but I must object. I currently reside in one of the top 20 zip codes when it comes to per-capita income in the whole US, and I have yet to see an SLR on the road. Believe me, I do keep an eye out, although I am travelling most of the time. And it is not like my neighbors/hood does not have a taste for high-ticket MBs and other superluxury brands, cause they do.

Yeah..but they learned their lesson from the F40.

Ferrari originally said they would build just 400 some cars, but because of increased demand they decided to go out on a limb and produce 1,315. This of course very much annoyed customers of the first few hundred vehicles who expected exclusivity.

Come to think of it, the F40 was the first mass-produced supercar. So they're not completely innocent

Of course, things were very different back then... So once again, I'm not sure why I'm responding ()

Yes the F40 production went a little out of hand. That is worth mentioning. Ferrari made a mistake and they learned from it.

Video:

Exclusive Video and Spy Photos: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLC

M

true, but MB didn't do that, they made a car they believend would actually sell that much and it didn't, therefor it's a faillure.

Is that mule based on Viper?

Yep.

I don't know what the hell we're looking at with this thing. I mean they seemed to have gone through a lot of effort to get Viper body panels to fit over whatever it is they're testing underneath. Then all the escorting cars are AMG models. Ridiculous. Look at how long that darn hood is! This "prototype" seems to be from another planet. It seems I hear the AMG V8 in the video, but still...this thing is all over the place it seems.

M

The car isn't a failure. The SLR have been embraced since people first saw the concpet. It as actually sold very well in comparison with other super car.

It would have been a failure if it had sold less than 500 cars but so far it has sold over 1200 cars which is well more than a super car should be selling. The CGT didn't reach it sales goal either. Does that make it a failure? No.

Failure = Flop

Neither the CGT nor the SLR flopped.

Maybach sold 200 a year or so, when they expected 1000.
SLR sold 1200 in total, when expected 3000, that's not even half the goal. You can say whatever you want, that's a faillure. Even MB says they weren't pleased with the result.

The Maybach was a failure, it didn't sell close to what the competition does. The SLR on the other hand has sold comparable number of units like the CGT, Enzo and Zonda so it didn't fail. It has sold just as much as a super car is supposed to.

The SLR is not yet out of production, in fact has at least half its life left, so do not rule the remaining 1,800 units unsellable yet.

I was just about to say that, the SLR is a 7 year car and the goal is 3500 units. What Mercedes and the critics have been saying is that it isn't on track to see 3500 units or that it has been selling slowly so far. It has been a flop as far as the magazines go, they've never really loved it, but commercially it has been just so-so, but not an outright failure. The roadster should sell much better than the coupe anyway. I too said that the SLR had been a flop, but when you think about the original goals that really isn't so, yet.

M

The 7-year span might be a problem in and of itself with the SLR. It is way too long a time during which a car of this caliber has to remain appealing and state of the art. The SLR stopped being state-of-the-art, or even MB state-of-the-art, a couple of years after production started. It now has an outdated engine, an outdated transmission, and frankly, power levels aren't any longer the impressive heights they used to be. The mighty Enzo, a car with far more deserved state-of-the-art credentials stopped being the "it" Ferrari in terms of technology and speed at the very advent of the 599. Yet, when the last Enzo rolled, it went out with the bang of being the Ferrari, indeed the car, to beat.

They better not commit the same product and marketing strategy with the upcoming supercar(s), or they are in for a repeat of the tepid results. The "Gullwing" projects seems exciting enough and could be a "Veyron" to MB as the actual veyron is to VW's 'wagens and Audis. As far as the SLC--if indeed, this SLC is not simply the "Gullwing" known by another name--it could battle the Modenas and the Gallardos of the world.

Gullwing should make do with no less than 1,000 hp, and have a chasis and equipment, and styling to go with it. If they build it, people will return...

Earlier this month, reports emerged outlining details about a new high-end sports car from Mercedes-Benz that would likely be the spiritual successor to the classic 300 SL gullwing. The car will be developed by Mercedes engineers but there will be many influences from the AMG performance division. Such features will include aluminum tubing for the car’s chassis, several AMG components including its hand-built 6.2L V8, as well as a possible dual-clutch gearbox.

The car’s styling will feature many retro cues, including the gullwing doors of the original model from the 1950s and should hit the market in early 2011, according to AutoZeitung. The new model will sit between the SL and SLR in terms of performance and price.

Mercedes’ racing partner HWA is still on track to launch its own super-sports car powered by the same 6.2L V8 engine, while Mercedes itself is working on a new Black Series edition of the SL roadster. This car will be lightened version of the facelifted SL and will pack a more powerful version of the, you guessed it, AMG’s 6.2L V8. Expect extensive use of aluminum and carbon-fiber to bring down the car’s kerb weight and a final power figure close to 575hp (429kW).


Source: Motor Authority » More info on Mercedes’ upcoming 300SL successor

So that long rumored lightweight SL might really come to market, can't wait to see it. I just love that they're milking the SL design for eveything it is worth. Makes the car all the more desirable for me. I'm going to get a SL in few years!

M

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^ The 6.3 V8, I don't know ...

The original engine/feel was that of a sophisticated european high-rever, while the 6.3 is a (for) american(s) torque porker (that comes with an automatic).

Preview: Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing successor
Mercedes-Benz and its performance divisions AMG and HWA are working on a host of new sports cars with a number of prototypes already spotted testing at both the Nurburgring and America’s Death Valley. Yesterday, spy images of a new Black Series version of the facelifted SL surfaced and last month images of another prototype dubbed the SLC turned up. We now have new renderings of a third Mercedes sports car said to be in development, a gull-winged coupe based on a shortened SL platform described as a spiritual successor to the original 300 SL.

Rumored to hit the streets in 2010, the new car will feature an upgraded version of AMG’s hand-built 6.2L V8 with power levels in excess of 600hp. The car is being developed internally by Mercedes and AMG engineers and production numbers are expected to range between 3,000 and 5,000 units per year.
Although the gull-wing doors draw obvious styling cues from the original model from the 1950s, the new car won’t be shamelessly retro. As these renderings suggest, the car will feature a sleek, aerodynamic body, circular headlights and SLR-style side vents.

^^OMG that is such a bad Alfa Romeo chop that it's not even funny.

^
lOl, I agree. On top of that I thought MB was through with the round headlight design. This ps is retro overkill! I like some elements about it, but it seems the evolution factor is missing.

I love everything about that chop. It's perfection.

Are you for real or what? I don't say it's crap, but i expect something 10 thousand times better than that!