Gets more power and technology.
Mercedes has showcased the 2016 Mercedes SL at the Geneva Motor Show. The SL facelift is a major improvement over its predecessor with its engine churning out more power, and quite a long list of features provided as standard.
The SL's new hood and bumper, grille which is now wider at the bottom, and broadened headlamps, enhance the car's sporty appeal. The headlamps are full-LED as standard and the updated 'Vario-Roof' can now be operated at speeds upto 25 mph. The AMG body kit now comes as standard in the form of beefier air intakes, two powerdomes on the hood, and body colored front splitter among others. Two new colors available on the SL are Brilliant Blue and Designo Selenite Grey Magno.
On the inside, the instrument cluster has been redesigned along with the addition of two new ambient lighting colors, polar blue and polar white. In Dynamic Mode, the media display presents dynamic driving data i.e. longitudinal and lateral acceleration (in a G-force cross) or torque and output. The flat bottom three-spoke steering wheel has a magnesium structure following which are the aluminum paddle shifters.
Under the hood of the US-spec variant is an updated 3.0-liter twin-turbo that makes 33 hp more bumping the power output to 362 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, and hence the facelifted SL400 becomes the SL 450. Both the SL450 and SL500 get the new 9-G Tronic gearbox with paddle shifters, as compared to the seven-speed automatic on the exiting version.
The Curve feature in Dynamic mode, which can tilt the vehicle upto 2.65 degrees from 9 mph to 112 mph thereby reducing the effects of lateral acceleration on the occupants, now comes standard.
The AMG versions, namely SL63 and SL65, get more power and torque, new suspension with Active Body Control, AMG high-performance composite brake system (Carbon Ceramics as optional) and the redeveloped AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission (AMG SL63) or AMG SPEEDSHIFT PLUS 7G-TRONIC (AMG SL65).
The 5.5-liter V8 Biturbo engine used on the SL63 churns out 577 hp and a peak torque of 664 lb-ft. The SL65 is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 Biturbo engine with an output of 621 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque. The SL63 and SL65 sprint from 0-60 mph in 4.1 and 3.9 seconds respectively.
