SL-Class [Renders] 2021 Mercedes-Benz SL

[LaArtist]

Ah shit looks good

 

[klier]

I'll refrain from commenting until official but sh!t's not looking good so far. F type rear, terrible front lights, ugly grille and corporate bumper. Yikes.
But then again, first impressions of a new Benz or Bimmer for that matter are always (mostly) as such, and these pics are beyond terrible, so I have hope I'll like it.

I thought the Z4 looked hideous as initial response, but now I love the design. Same will likely be the case here.

Headlights suite the car and makes it look different from the AMG GT.

They look like stretched A class lights and thus IMO don't suit the car at all. Why such pointy details on an overall smooth design?

 

[SCOTT27]

If we were to compare the lignage of SL's in the same way as that seductive minx and Batmans love interest Catwoman then this is Halle Berry. Sadly It's no Julie Newmar.

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[Serpens]

I'll gladly take Halle Berry. I love the cat eyes on this car.

 

[sako97]

Street justice for not unveiling on the 12th, as previously communicated? (Pun intended)

 

[Uygar]

I think it’s just a lazy design.
A/CLS Class headlights with AMG GT bumper and a classic Mercedes coupe rear end.
I would love to see something unique to set it apart from the other AMG’s because to me it looks exactly like every other Mercedes model, and that’s not a good thing since SL is such a big deal for the brand.
Overall I’m disappointed. It still looks good though, just lacks personality.

 

[Sonder]

Boring as i expected.
- The Panamericana grill is now everywhere, so it lost its exclusivity.
- The combination grill+front lights is almost s copy-paste of the CLS (only the lights at SL are a little more narrower)
- The front bumper with air intakes is almost a copy-paste of the GT AMG 4d

the rear lights are a little narrower then those of the S-Class 223, only withothe chrome stripe above (and yes a little different graphics inside)

The interior as said
- Wheel from 213mopf, 223
- iPad tablet from 223
- Air vents from EQS
- Displsy in front of the wheel 206 only it has a mask around it
- Plastic “pianolack” panel for seat adjustment from 223

so NO REASON to party.
Actually a big disappointment.
SL should be excited, new, special, unique.
This one is nothing of that. Its a bunch already seen things thrown into one car.
And who makes something like that?
- a designer who lost ideas
- a company with cost lowering
Welcome to the new era of Mercedes-Benz, what a shame.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

@Sonder was right with his expectations about this car. Credit where credit is due.

 

[Merc1]

Yeah I'm not feeling it so far either. It's the same old thing. This should have had a new front and rear end design.

M

 

[MrRapp]

Yeah I'm not feeling it so far either. It's the same old thing. This should have had a new front and rear end design.

M

Which they could subsequently copy on any other new MB car. By no means I can call this an ugly design, it actually looks the part. Issue is that it’s so predictable.

 

[AndreB]

This is no S, its one level below, a2 door CLS.

If its replacing the AMG GT, its fine, less track car and more comfy but if its replacing the S Coupe, its failed.

 

[Ozy]

I really wonder what some of you actually expect from a car brand? I mean you really want to have no coherent design, and make every single model look completely different in every way, so it’s like each model belongs to a completely different brand?
Currently no 2 Mercedes models share the same headlights or rear lights, or the grill at least in dimensions. They follow one design language, but all are unique in their own way, it’s the sum of the details that matters, and how it is combined, not the fact that - “oh the headlights are similar to other coupe Mercedes headlights” (what a surprise…), “oh the rear is similar to some other models” (oh what a surprise again…) - there is no fricken model in their whole lineup that looks the same, that’s the point, that’s the difference you guys usually appreciate when new cars come out, a healthy dose of evolution, not necessarily revolution….

I’m also surprised that Sonder who claims to be some god given design expert can’t take in consideration details, can’t see the forest for the tree, and saying that this absolutely gorgeous, design wise I think at least AM Vantage or a smaller Continental GT level looking car is - boring - while the EQS is the epitome of great exterior design, leaves quite a few question marks … lol

I really wonder why no one complains that Audi has the same grill shape for like 12 years now (for me not a problem), or that BMW keeps a variation of the double rings headlights on every car for many decades now - again not a problem for me - but why isn’t that boring, but a 5 year old style direction is?

I think it’s a very sexy car, it’s quite close to a concept car in proportions, not like the new E class with messed up ones. Compared to previous SL models, this is after a long while something that many will desire, as oppose to the outgoing one. Compared to the renderings which were sometimes quite nice, this exceeded my expectations, looking forward to see more.

 

[Laurent T]

First impression is that it doesn't look exclusive enough for an SL, more like a C or E-Class cabriolet. Let's reserve judgment until better pictures are available. From those, it lacks the "long hood proportions" of the previous SLs.

 

[Sonder]

I really wonder what some of you actually expect from a car brand? I mean you really want to have no coherent design, and make every single model look completely different in every way, so it’s like each model belongs to a completely different brand?
Currently no 2 Mercedes models share the same headlights or rear lights, or the grill at least in dimensions. They follow one design language, but all are unique in their own way, it’s the sum of the details that matters, and how it is combined, not the fact that - “oh the headlights are similar to other coupe Mercedes headlights” (what a surprise…), “oh the rear is similar to some other models” (oh what a surprise again…) - there is no fricken model in their whole lineup that looks the same, that’s the point, that’s the difference you guys usually appreciate when new cars come out, a healthy dose of evolution, not necessarily revolution….

I’m also surprised that Sonder who claims to be some god given design expert can’t take in consideration details, can’t see the forest for the tree, and saying that this absolutely gorgeous, design wise I think at least AM Vantage or a smaller Continental GT level looking car is - boring - while the EQS is the epitome of great exterior design, leaves quite a few question marks … lol

I really wonder why no one complains that Audi has the same grill shape for like 12 years now (for me not a problem), or that BMW keeps a variation of the double rings headlights on every car for many decades now - again not a problem for me - but why isn’t that boring, but a 5 year old style direction is?

I think it’s a very sexy car, it’s quite close to a concept car in proportions, not like the new E class with messed up ones. Compared to previous SL models, this is after a long while something that many will desire, as oppose to the outgoing one. Compared to the renderings which were sometimes quite nice, this exceeded my expectations, looking forward to see more.

similar design language for a generation is ok, but the R232 is comming out, when the W177 (which has the same “face”) is already almost 4 years old.

Look at the
- steering wheel
- counters
- center console
- seat adjustments
- air vents
- door handles
etc
in the R230 for example, theres not one thing that you can find in the W203, W211, W220

also the R129….even the automatic AC console was unique designed versus W202, W124, W140 etc.

its in the details.

The new SL is not enough self-sufficient for its name.
Having some similarities with the generation is ok, having a copy paste of everything is just a shame and showing us in which direction Daimler is going: cost lowering, but with that also comes boredom.

SL stands for peculiarity.
What’s unique at the new SL ?
- grill? Nope. A copy-paste of W177 AMG
- headlights? Nope. Copypaste C257
- front bumper? Nope. Copypaste X290
- rearlights? Nope. Copypaste W223
- steeringwheel? Nope. Copypaste 223/206
- Display front? Nope. Copypaste 223/206
- Center display? Nope. Copypaste 223/206
- Airvents? Nope. Copypaste EQS
- Door handles with plastic panel with seat adjusment? Nope. Copy 223
- i’m quite sure that even the wheels (which at R230 were made only for this car) will be some, thats been already seen

this car could be an SLK/SLC, but it dont deserve the name SL

Once again: i didnt say it doesent look ok, but its too boring

 

[Robi777]

I too must agree with sonder. While the new SL is not a bad looking car on its own, it isn’t independent enought from the other models design-wise. And it ought to be unique because it’s an SL aftet all, a legendary car with a long history.
Take VW for example, sure it’s not a luxury manufacturer like mercedes but I think they have an exemplary design policy. All of their designs are quite conservative and evolutionary, but you’ll always recognize a VW model when you see it. And more importantly for my point; you’ll always recognise a Golf and never mistake it for something else. That’s how you differentiate models while being within the same design language and other manufacturers could learn from it.

 

[SKY]

The front is what kills it IMO. How many renders we have seen with a much better looking front lights? This is MB's top end model. They cannot stick the headlights of their cheapest model.

The result is a nice looking car that looks like an A-Cabrio.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Cost cutting alone doesn’t lead to this “seen one, seen all” design. To me, it’s the designers who are getting lazy, are lacking new ideas. Look for instance at the lower part of the front bumper of the W223 (AMG line). The same horizontal chrome strips we’ve known for years now, making that part of the car looking almost exactly the same as that of W222.

 

[Uygar]

I really wonder what some of you actually expect from a car brand? I mean you really want to have no coherent design, and make every single model look completely different in every way, so it’s like each model belongs to a completely different brand?
Currently no 2 Mercedes models share the same headlights or rear lights, or the grill at least in dimensions. They follow one design language, but all are unique in their own way, it’s the sum of the details that matters, and how it is combined, not the fact that - “oh the headlights are similar to other coupe Mercedes headlights” (what a surprise…), “oh the rear is similar to some other models” (oh what a surprise again…) - there is no fricken model in their whole lineup that looks the same, that’s the point, that’s the difference you guys usually appreciate when new cars come out, a healthy dose of evolution, not necessarily revolution….

I’m also surprised that Sonder who claims to be some god given design expert can’t take in consideration details, can’t see the forest for the tree, and saying that this absolutely gorgeous, design wise I think at least AM Vantage or a smaller Continental GT level looking car is - boring - while the EQS is the epitome of great exterior design, leaves quite a few question marks … lol

I really wonder why no one complains that Audi has the same grill shape for like 12 years now (for me not a problem), or that BMW keeps a variation of the double rings headlights on every car for many decades now - again not a problem for me - but why isn’t that boring, but a 5 year old style direction is?

I think it’s a very sexy car, it’s quite close to a concept car in proportions, not like the new E class with messed up ones. Compared to previous SL models, this is after a long while something that many will desire, as oppose to the outgoing one. Compared to the renderings which were sometimes quite nice, this exceeded my expectations, looking forward to see more.

Same goes with the Audi as well, they all look the same usually. But at least they do different stylings every now and then to differentiate the cars.
For example how different the Q8 is compared to Q7, since it’s somewhat Q7’s coupe version. They could’ve used the same exact front if they wanted to (like X6 and GLE Coupe), but they chose not to and they created (imo) the best looking “coupe” SUV on the market.
But that’s not even the case with MB anymore because they don’t even do tiny little design tweaks to make it look somewhat unique on it’s own. They all look the same and they’re so predictable. That’s literally why I gave up on MB design like 2 years ago because of how predictable the designs got and how they all look like the same shit just different size.

And when it comes to BMW’s double headlights I have to highly disagree with you since it’s a must have for the brands own identity. Those are what makes a BMW look like a BMW.
It’s like saying “why no one complains that BMW is using the same kidney grilles for the last 50 years” lol.
All jokes aside even though I disagree with you on some points, I agree with the rest

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

you guys really think they'd introduce a new design language for an ICEV when they are transitioning to BEVs?

 

[klier]

Cost cutting alone doesn’t lead to this “seen one, seen all” design. To me, it’s the designers who are getting lazy, are lacking new ideas. Look for instance at the lower part of the front bumper of the W223 (AMG line). The same horizontal chrome strips we’ve known for years now, making that part of the car looking almost exactly the same as that of W222.

Time to sack that terrible design chief they've had for so many years. That man is a complete and total tool. Not to be taken seriously. Incredible he manages to keep his position, and that can only mean one thing: he is blackmailing the Board somehow.

you guys really think they'd introduce a new design language for an ICEV when they are transitioning to BEVs?

Their boring ass ICE cars look downright heavenly compared to their BEV designs.....even this SL.