SL-Class [Renders] 2021 Mercedes-Benz SL

[Mick Briesgau]

Going to a soft top is not a move in the right direction.

Disagree strongly. The whole designmess started with the hardtop.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

In view of speculation that the C217 S-Class coupe/cabriolet will not have a direct successor, Autobild recently presented the possibility of an extended future SL line-up. For example, the traditional roadster being complemented by a slightly lengthened 2 door 2+2 coupe. Not unlike the R107 SL/SLC introduced in the early 1970s'. Quite feasible while being far from confirmed.

The question is whether the roadster will actually sport a canvas top. Personally, I would wholeheartedly applaud it. I'm not at all a fan of collapsable, retracting hardtops with those patently unsightly shutlines.

 

[zonk1988]

I love hardtops and I hope so much next gen SL will be equipped with it. I don't also know why so many people have problem with hardtops? SL and BMW Z4 are the perfect examples of excellent implementation of this technology.

 

[lukeswiss]

Disagree strongly. The whole designmess started with the hardtop.

Excluding the R230 !!!

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Excluding the R230 !!!

I just don't like the principle of the retractable hardtop. Even on the R230.

 

[lukeswiss]

I just don't like the principle of the retractable hardtop. Even on the R230.

It would differentiate it a bit from the GT.... as long as the design is beautiful I don't mind though. I did like the glass roof option, best of both worlds.

The new soft tops are as quiet as a hard top and you can have nice contrasting colours, it gives a very luxurious look.

 

[Rolf]

Replacing the hardtop with a soft top will allow the designers to shorten the boot and make the car look better proportioned instead of rear heavy in its styling with the long flat boot lid. It will help to save some more weight and also the soft top will probably open and close quicker than the hardtop.

Mercedes need to throw all they got at the next gen, this is my wish list for 2020 model:

- curvaceous, sporty and extremely sensuous styling with nice details.
- shortened front and rear overhangs and longer wheelbase.
- reduced weight by 50 to 100kg (same weight as a R129 SL)
- sporty and hightech interior
- dynamic neutral handling with sharp direct steering
- ride comfort that is nearly as good as an E-class in comfort mode and with excellent body control in sport mode
- SL350d - 235kw/320PS, 1700kg, 5,0sec to 100km/h
- SL450d - 300kw/408PS, 1720kg, 4,4sec to 100km/h
- SL400 - 305kw/415PS, 1610kg, 4,4sec to 100km/h
-SL500(560) - 360kw/490PS, 1700kg, 4,0sec to 100km/h
-SL63 AMG AWD - 450kw/612PS, 1780kg, 3,3sec to 100km/h, 310km/h
-SL65 AMG AWD - 500kw/680PS, 1870kg, 3,2sec to 100km/h, 310km/h

 

[tennmb]

Replacing the hardtop with a soft top will allow the designers to shorten the boot and make the car look better proportioned instead of rear heavy in its styling with the long flat boot lid. It will help to save some more weight and also the soft top will probably open and close quicker than the hardtop.

Mercedes need to throw all they got at the next gen, this is my wish list for 2020 model:

- curvaceous, sporty and extremely sensuous styling with nice details.
- shortened front and rear overhangs and longer wheelbase.
- reduced weight by 50 to 100kg (same weight as a R129 SL)
- sporty and hightech interior
- dynamic neutral handling with sharp direct steering
- ride comfort that is nearly as good as an E-class in comfort mode and with excellent body control in sport mode
- SL350d - 235kw/320PS, 1700kg, 5,0sec to 100km/h
- SL450d - 300kw/408PS, 1720kg, 4,4sec to 100km/h
- SL400 - 305kw/415PS, 1610kg, 4,4sec to 100km/h
-SL500(560) - 360kw/490PS, 1700kg, 4,0sec to 100km/h
-SL63 AMG AWD - 450kw/612PS, 1780kg, 3,3sec to 100km/h, 310km/h
-SL65 AMG AWD - 500kw/680PS, 1870kg, 3,2sec to 100km/h, 310km/h

And none of those things appeal to the traditional SL buyer. It's always been a touring roadster.
Not to mention there has been a lot of new ideas in folding hard top tech that lessen the space needed. See VW Eos for example. MB just hasn't implemented. The hard top has become a HUGE appeal for this model.

 

[tennmb]

Disagree strongly. The whole designmess started with the hardtop.

Huh? The 230 was a huge success. The design issues with the current SL have nothing to do with the hardtop. The SLs dating back to the 60s had a removable hardtop and were designed with this in mind. Do you really think people want to go back to negotiating a removable hard top? Hell no.

 

[Serpens]

And none of those things appeal to the traditional SL buyer. It's always been a touring roadster.
Not to mention there has been a lot of new ideas in folding hard top tech that lessen the space needed. See VW Eos for example. MB just hasn't implemented. The hard top has become a HUGE appeal for this model.

Sporty/high tech interior, sensuous styling, comfort never appealed to an SL buyer? Uh...Those are exactly the things that made people love the SL, especially the R230.

The Eos, Volvo C70, and current 4-series convertible all have the same type of top, it's not a new idea. It's a solution for 4-seat convertibles and it still has all the same problems as other folding hard top designs. They add too much weight and in the exact place you don't want it; high up on the body.

 

[lukeswiss]

I think the problem was that they used the R230 hardtop on the R231.... it just didn't work.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Huh? The 230 was a huge success. The design issues with the current SL have nothing to do with the hardtop. The SLs dating back to the 60s had a removable hardtop and were designed with this in mind. Do you really think people want to go back to negotiating a removable hard top? Hell no.

I'm not disputing R230's succes. The retractable hardtop IS the design issue imo. And that started with R230. All those terrible shutlines, the amorph looking design of the top itself, not to mention the weight and bootdesign issues. I'm well aware of the days of the removable hardtops, they at least didn't have a negative impact on the overall design of the roadster itself. Give the SL a beautiful, modern and quiet soft top, electrically operated for the comfort factor. I'd love it.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Modern cabriolet-top technology that may employ rigid, lightweight panels and very fabric-like faux-fabric coatings can make the classic "removeable" hardtop redundant. Porsches' 991 Carrera cab models are a prime example of which.

Seeing something similar applied to a future SL could be enticing.

 

[Rolf]

And none of those things appeal to the traditional SL buyer. It's always been a touring roadster.
Not to mention there has been a lot of new ideas in folding hard top tech that lessen the space needed. See VW Eos for example. MB just hasn't implemented. The hard top has become a HUGE appeal for this model.

The SL has always been a jack of all trades roadster, not only a touring roadster. The original 300SL from 1954 was a benchmark sports car its performance figures were faster than many Ferraris of the time and it handled extremely well also. All the models over the years have demonstrated that they have the best ride and handling comprise of any sports car (comfort and refinement of the S-class combined with handling of a sports car). The hardtop is great from a security point of view as well as for optimum refinement as it will probably provide less wind noise than a soft top but the length of the roof panel when folded compromises the boot design as it has to be longer than a soft top boot and also all the extra actuators and motors required to fold each piece into place under the boot lid adds extra weight and messes with the cars center of gravity. Also the boot space when the top is open is less than if it had a soft top. The soft top has been part of the SL design since the beginning and the removable hardtop debuted in the 230 SL from late 60's and hardtop began with the 1996 SLK. One thing for sure is Mercedes have mostly over the years created great looking soft top and hardtop SL's the notable exemption in my opinion is the latest R231 SL and latest SLK(SLC) which are not as stylish as previous models.

 

[Wunderkind]

Don't forget the folding hardtop also takes up a lot of space and gives rise to many insurmountable problems to the exterior design team when it comes to styling the back-end of the car. The current SL has a huge flat derrière because of it.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

Replacing the hardtop with a soft top will allow the designers to shorten the boot and make the car look better proportioned instead of rear heavy in its styling with the long flat boot lid. It will help to save some more weight and also the soft top will probably open and close quicker than the hardtop.

Mercedes need to throw all they got at the next gen, this is my wish list for 2020 model:

- curvaceous, sporty and extremely sensuous styling with nice details.
- shortened front and rear overhangs and longer wheelbase.
- reduced weight by 50 to 100kg (same weight as a R129 SL)
- sporty and hightech interior
- dynamic neutral handling with sharp direct steering
- ride comfort that is nearly as good as an E-class in comfort mode and with excellent body control in sport mode
- SL350d - 235kw/320PS, 1700kg, 5,0sec to 100km/h
- SL450d - 300kw/408PS, 1720kg, 4,4sec to 100km/h
- SL400 - 305kw/415PS, 1610kg, 4,4sec to 100km/h
-SL500(560) - 360kw/490PS, 1700kg, 4,0sec to 100km/h
-SL63 AMG AWD - 450kw/612PS, 1780kg, 3,3sec to 100km/h, 310km/h
-SL65 AMG AWD - 500kw/680PS, 1870kg, 3,2sec to 100km/h, 310km/h

Although I love your wishlist I can guarantee one thing: diesel will be dead soon. BMW is decreasing development for their diesel engies as there is only one real market: Europe. A diesel engine like the quad turbo for the 750d costs millions even if it is based on the old M50d. That SL450d will not happen.

 

[Rolf]

I don't believe Diesel engine will die as they are popular in many markets outside Europe such as India, South Africa and some Asian countries. The fuel savings a Diesel engine have over petrol models will still be their huge selling point. The diesel scandal is only in the US and that country is not a big diesel buyer in passenger cars cause their petrol price is so cheap. It's the same in the Middle East, diesel passenger cars are non existent.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

I respectfully disagree. Diesels will stay in the lineup with a couple vehciles but become increasingly less important (i.e. diesels in the BMW lineup compared to e performance models). But let's see what the future will show us.

 

[Serpens]

Although I love your wishlist I can guarantee one thing: diesel will be dead soon. BMW is decreasing development for their diesel engies as there is only one real market: Europe. A diesel engine like the quad turbo for the 750d costs millions even if it is based on the old M50d. That SL450d will not happen.

I respectfully disagree. Diesels will stay in the lineup with a couple vehciles but become increasingly less important (i.e. diesels in the BMW lineup compared to e performance models). But let's see what the future will show us.

I don't believe Diesel engine will die as they are popular in many markets outside Europe such as India, South Africa and some Asian countries. The fuel savings a Diesel engine have over petrol models will still be their huge selling point. The diesel scandal is only in the US and that country is not a big diesel buyer in passenger cars cause their petrol price is so cheap. It's the same in the Middle East, diesel passenger cars are non existent.

For the record, Dieter Zetsche also said they were not focusing on diesel development moving forward. It's in his most recent statements regarding the acceleration of Daimler's electric and hybrid cars. See below:

“Among development teams, especially in diesel, there are signs there’s less to do as electrification is starting to have an impact,” Roman Zitzelsberger, a union representative on Daimler’s supervisory board, told reporters in Berlin Tuesday. “We found there are fewer follow-up requests and general degree of activity.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-electric-car-rollout-as-combustion-era-fades

 

[Adr5]

2018 Mercedes-Benz SL will be AMG-engineered 2+2
Big changes are in store for the Mercedes convertible, including bottom-up AMG engineering and a return to a cloth roof
The Mercedes-Benz SL will be more practical and faster than its predecessser due to a 2+2 cabin and AMG engineering.

Speaking at the New York motor show about the eighth-generation car, AMG boss Tobias Moers told Autocar a 2+2 layout "would make sense" because it would offer a "bit more space".

Development of the new two-seat luxury roadster was handed to AMG last year as part of a plan by Mercedes-Benz’s incoming research and development boss, Ola Källenius, to provide the new SL with what’s been described as “a more sporting character” than the existing model.
It is being kept secret at the moment, but AMG is heading the engineering of the new SL,” a highly placed insider at Mercedes-Benz’s headquarters in Stuttgart told Autocar, adding: “It’s going to be a vastly different proposition to today’s model.”
Although photos of a development prototype from the Nürburgring show a heavily modified S-Class coupé, the final production version of the SL will get an all-new platform structure. Known internally as the MSA (modularen sportwagen architektur), it is also planned to underpin the successor to today’s SLC. The new platform, which supports scalable tracks and wheelbase, has been developed using various solutions from Mercedes-Benz MRA (modularen rear architektur), as used by the E-Class.

As well as receiving a new platform, Mercedes-Benz has also taken the decision to ditch the SL’s folding aluminium roof. For the first time since the fifth generation model ceased production in 2001, the new model, codenamed R232, will flaunt a multi-layer fabric hood similar in construction to that used by the S-Class cabriolet.

Among the engines planned to power the new SL is Mercedes-Benz’s new turbocharged 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder petrol unit. In the new SL 300 is planned to deliver 365bhp, while added turbocharger boost pressure and other power enhancing measures will see it pumped up to 435bhp for use in the SL 400.

Ranged above them will be the SL 500 running a specially tuned version of AMG’s 4.0-litre V8 with around 455bhp.
Two AMG models are also planned: the SL 63 running a 500bhp-plus version of AMG’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-itre V8 and the range-topping SL 65 with a twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 producing 621bhp.

A Mercedes-Benz spokesman said it was unlikely that Mercedes-AMG’s 43 range would be extended to the SL, given that the current SL 400 uses the same engine as the 43 range, with the same power output.

Nevertheless, if 43 badging were given to the SL, it’d almost certainly use the engine found in the current SL 400, which is also in the 43-badged AMG line-up.

The current SL has been around in facelifted format since late 2015, so the next-generation SL may still be at least two more years away if it follows the standard timeframe for model cycles.

Currently, the SL 63 produces 577bhp – the same as the E 63 S because they use the same engine in the same state of tune.
As such, it’s likely the entry-level AMG-tuned SL 63 will have the same power output as the E 63, details of which were recently leaked in a document. If that's the case, the SL 63 could have 603bhp and 627lb ft of torque from a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.

Both cars also weigh exactly the same – 1845kg - in their current iterations and have a 0-62mph time of 4.1sec with the old 5.5-litre V8 fitted.

The S 63 Cabriolet is faster to 62mph by 0.2sec and still uses the old engine, so it’s safe to assume that the SL’s engine will be in the same state of tune, and that when the S 63 adopts the smaller engine, it will be more powerful than the SL and E-Class AMG-badged cars.

Meanwhile, AMG will continue to produce V12 engines, so it’s a safer bet that the flagship SL 65 will return once again. Another source said the SL was the next in line for development from Mercedes.
2018 Mercedes-Benz SL will be AMG-engineered 2+2 | Autocar