September 30, 2009AND WE’RE BACK…

PHOTOS via freshnessmag.com

…and what a way to return.  The 2010 Mercedes SLS AMG has summoned me back to the keyboard from my late-summer/early-fall hibernation.  One look at the SLS AMG’s ground-hugging stance and brawny side vents was enough to entice me, but the real aesthetic hook is the car’s simplistic and flawlessly-designed grill which calls to mind a long-nosed ground-dwelling animal sniffing out the road that lies ahead.  Inevitably, some will be lured by the car’s sexy retro-futuristic gull-wing doors, undoubtedly a source of endless wonderment.

I’m inclined to be seduced by the red and black leather in which Mercedes has chosen to show the interior cabin; however, the cockpit looks a bit cramped and uncomfortable, a feature which is keeping my enthusiasm at bay.  But this car isn’t about its interior, it’s all about its engine…an edited version of AMG’s 6.2 liter 32-valve V-8.  Performance metrics will be top-notch with the engine generating horsepower to the tune of 563 hp at 6800 rpm.  The car will have a very low center of gravity owed primarily to the car’s dry-slump system, a newly developed method for engine lubrication that will allow the engine to sit lower than typical.  The engine will sit behind the front axle line, further contributing to the car’s very low center of gravity.

Production will start next year and sales will ensue thereafter; and word on the street is that the SLS AMG will succeed the McLaren SLR in the Mercedes lineup (an unfortunate loss to the streets of Palm Beach and Beverly Hills, if you ask me).