The Performance Brand Within Mercedes-Benz Cars Is Presenting A New Dream-Car, The SLS AMG Roadster

Open sensuality: roadster performance in its perfect form. The performance brand within Mercedes-Benz Cars is presenting a new dream-car: the SLS AMG Roadster. This super sports car thrills with a perfect synthesis of open-top driving pleasure, outstanding driving dynamics and systematic lightweight construction. The overall visual appearance of the new two-seater is marked by its purist design. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) March 16, 2012 - The performance brand within Mercedes-Benz Cars is presenting a new dream-car: the SLS AMG Roadster. This super sports car thrills with a perfect synthesis of open-top driving pleasure, outstanding driving dynamics and systematic lightweight construction. The overall visual appearance of the new two-seater is marked by its purist design.

• In a class of its own, unique and timeless design
• Lighter structure further enhanced by the Aluminum Space frame
• A super sports car with high standard of safety & ultra-comfort
• Powerful engine delivers you the dynamic & outstanding performance

The technological highlights of the SLS AMG Roadster read like an A-B-C of modern sports car engineering: the combination of an aluminium spaceframe body, an AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid engine with dry sump lubrication developing a peak output of 571 hp and 650 newton metres of torque, a seven-speed dual clutch transmission in a transaxle arrangement and a sports suspension with aluminium double wishbones is guaranteed to make the hearts of sports car enthusiasts beat faster - while ensuring outstanding driving dynamics and roadster motoring pleasure.

Interior atmosphere as in an aircraft cockpit

The interior continues the breathtaking design idiom of the exterior, and awakens associations with an aircraft cockpit: prominent stylistic features include the dashboard in the shape of a wing section and the air vents with adjustable, cruciform nozzles reminiscent of jet engines. The extended centre console of matt, solid metal and the new E-SELECT lever in the shape of an aircraft's thrust control are also design features adopted from the world of aviation. Another discreet, fine detail is the embossed AMG emblem on the leather-lined selector lever.

Outstanding material quality and standard of finish

The finest leather, matt-finished solid metal or optional, real carbon-fibre trim create an exclusive ambience and correspond with the authentic feel of the cockpit. Precisely executed decorative and contrasting stitching enhances the visual impression, heightens the hand-crafted look and reflects the attention to detail which is the hallmark of Mercedes design.

Driving pleasure in four seasons

The experience of driving in an open SLS AMG Roadster won't leave you out in the cold. The Mercedes-Benz innovation AIRSCARF is one feature which helps. With a push of button, propellers in the back of the headrests suction out the surrounding air, which is then warmed and blown out through a nozzle in the front. The intensity of AIRSCARF can be individually adjusted to three different levels, depending on mood, climate or driving style. At high speeds or low outside temperatures you can simply switch it to high and let the comfort system produce more heat. The air then gently wraps itself around the nape and front of your neck and head area like a warm scarf. This allows you maximizing the driving pleasure in 4 seasons.

Fully automatic, weight-optimised soft top

The sensual experience in the SLS AMG Roadster is enhanced further when the soft top is open, and the powerful, naturally aspirated eight-cylinder engine with 571 hp and 650 newton metres of torque asserts itself and makes the heart beat faster with its typical AMG eight-cylinder sound. The fabric soft top can be opened and closed while on the move at up to 50 km/h; the fully automatic opening/closing process takes only eleven seconds. The driver only needs to operate the roof control unit conveniently integrated at the front of the centre armrest. When open, the soft top is space-savingly deposited behind the seats in a folded Z-configuration. Three soft top colours - black, red and beige - are available to suit the nine exterior and eight interior colours.

Specifically reinforced aluminium spaceframe, low DIN kerb weight

In addition to a high level of occupant comfort, the key factor for driving pleasure in the new SLS AMG Roadster is of course the outstanding performance. The basis for this is the innovative body design: the chassis and body are of aluminium, a design combining intelligent lightweight construction with high strength. With a DIN kerb weight of 1660 kilograms, the Roadster is only 40 kilograms heavier than the Coupé. The result is a remarkable power-to-weight ratio of 2.9 kilograms per hp.

Passive safety at a high level

The aluminium spaceframe provides the basis for outstanding passive safety. The extensive safety features include the fixed roll-over protection system, three-point seat belts with belt tensioners and belt force limiters, and eight airbags: adaptive front airbags and kneebags, two seat-integrated sidebags and two windowbags deploying from the door beltlines.

Variety modes for driving selection

The AMG DRIVE UNIT - which like numerous other interior features is available in real carbon-fibre - is the central control unit in the centre console: it allows the driver to choose a personal vehicle setup. The new AMG RIDE CONTROL sports suspension with electronically controlled damping is available as an attractive optional extra. It enables the damping characteristics to be modified at the touch of a button and driver could choose his own suspension setup. Three modes are available: "Comfort", "Sport", and "Sport plus." The current code is shown in the instrument cluster.

"Comfort" delivers a sensitive response with soft damping characteristics, while in "sport" mode the shock absorbers have a much stiffer response depending on the driving situation. This not leads to better road contact, but also effectively suppresses body roll and pitching. "Sport plus" is ideal for challenging laps on a racetrack: in addition to the higher damping force, this mode comes with specific control algorithms that have been tailor-made for a decidedly sport driving style on level road surfaces.

Powerful AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine with 571 hp

The SLS AMG Roadster has the same, muscular engine as the gull-wing model. The 6.3-litre V8 with a peak output of 571 hp at 6800 rpm makes the open-top SLS one of the most powerful sports cars in its segment. Its power-to-weight ratio is 2.9 kg/hp. This naturally aspirated engine generates its maximum torque of 650 newton metres at 4750 rpm. The open-top SLS AMG accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, and the top speed is 317 km/h (electronically limited) - which means that the Roadster has a performance comparable to the gull-wing variant.

Double-declutch transmission with transaxle configuration & torque tube

The AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed sports transmission boasts fast gear changes with no loss of tractive force - in as little as 100 milliseconds. The driver has a choice of four different driving modes: "C" (Controlled Efficiency), "S" (Sport), "S+" (Sport plus) or "M" (Manual). In the Sport, Sport plus and Manual modes the automatic double-declutching function is active; all the modes can be selected conveniently via the rotary control in the AMG DRIVE UNIT.

Achievement of demanding fuel consumption targets

Despite its uncompromisingly sporty character, very ambitious fuel consumption targets have been met. The SLS AMG consumes 13.2 litres per 100 kilometres (NEDC combined), corresponding to CO2 emissions of 308 grams per kilometre. Efficiency-enhancing measures include the familiar AMG-exclusive, friction-optimised twin-wire arc-sprayed coating on the cylinder walls as well as the on-demand, map-optimised oil supply and intelligent generator management: during the engine's overrun phases, kinetic energy is used to charge the battery rather than being wasted by simply generating heat. Conversely, the generator is switched to no-load operation during acceleration, thus reducing the load on the engine. Sophisticated catalytic converter technology enables current and future emission standards such as Euro-5, LEV 2 and ULEV to be met.

About Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Limited

Established in 1986 and based in Hong Kong, Mercedes-Benz China Limited (MBCL) was the wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler AG and the franchise-holder for all imported passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle products under the Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and smart brand names in the Northeast Asia region (China, Hong Kong and Macau). In 2005, MBCL moved all P.R. China operations to Beijing for further business development. On January 1, 2006, Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Limited (MBHK) was established to take over the wholesale business for the Hong Kong and Macau markets.

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All press information is available on the Mercedes-Benz website for the Hong Kong market at www.mercedes-benz.com.hk. Further information from Mercedes-Benz is available on the Internet at: www.media.daimler.com.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Limited
Samson Leung, tel: +852 2594 8733, samson.leung ( @ ) daimler dot com
Victoria Chu, tel: +852 2594 8861, victoria.chu ( @ ) daimler dot com

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