From PistonHeads.com…
he AMG-fettled Mercedes SL has a long and varied history. From Zonda-engined special commissions in the 90s to the much loved supercharged ’55 to the wild Black Series, the flagships models have been nothing if not memorable. Now, for 2022, there’s a brace of new AMGs resurrecting an old nameplate and introducing a host of new technology into the bargain.
There hasn’t been an SL55 AMG since 2008, but now the name is back on the 476hp entry point to the new Mercedes-AMG SL range. Alongside 516lb ft from the 4.0-litre twin-turbo, ‘M177’ V8, the new model is capable of 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and 183mph. Above it, there is the SL63 with 585hp and 590lb ft from the same engine, figures that the keen will note are the same as the old ’63. You know the power wars are up – or at least the combustion engined ones, that is – when even AMG are replacing V8 flagships with no change in output.
That said, with both cars powering through the nine-speed automatic, the ’63 reaches 62mph in 3.6 seconds and will reach 196mph – so we can’t complain. Plus old habits die hard at AMG; we’re told that an E-Performance SL – like the 800hp GT – will arrive in time.
