Re: Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing
By Gunnar Heinrich
MERCEDES’ new “super sports car” may, in fact, serve up 571 bhp. And it may have a handy rear biased weight ratio of 48/52 thanks to a newfangled transmission. And, yes, it may be sprung on an all aluminum double wishbone suspension and feature ceramic stoppers.
But all that doesn’t really interest me at the moment. What I want to know is: why is the 2010 SLS AMG no longer called “SLC”?
There was some buzz last year that Benz was bringing back not only the Gullwing concept but also the old moniker from the famed rally (S-Class) coupe from the 70s – the R107 450SLC.
The odds in Vegas are that Daimler didn’t want to confuse people with too many historical cross references and decided to stick more with just the 300SL Gullwing lore. Or something to that effect.
Since the AMG sports car that’s meant to replace the SLR McLaren couldn’t be strictly an “SL”, “SLS” was what they came up with. They should’ve stuck with SLC anyway…unless there’s something else coming down the pike…
About the Author: Gunnar Heinrich is publisher of Automobiles De Luxe online and is executive producer of the Automobiles De Luxe Television series on PBS member station CPTV.
tom | Mar 20, 2009 | Reply
I think that Mercedes should generally clean up their naming act…
In the past, they simply had the S (Sonderklasse) and a second car with no actual name (which became the E-Class). Then other letters were added, according to engine or chassis.
The “E” originally stood for “Einspritzung” (=injection). So the SEL was “Sonderklasse Einspritzung Lang”.
Since the smaller car only had the E for Einspritzung, it later became known as the E-Class.
With sportscars, it was different. SL originally stood for “Sport Leicht” (the irony), although some claim that it stands for “Super Leicht”, but I guess they’re confusing it with the Italian “Superleggara”. Anyway, so what does SLS stand for? “Super Leicht Sport” would be possible, but it goes against the Mercedes naming convention. But that doesn’t seem to concern anyone as of late…who knows what the A-Class stands for? Or the B-Class? The R-Class? The M-Class?
Someone should ask Mercedes…I know some of their older meanings:
S = Sport / Sonderklasse
L = Leicht / Lang
C = Coupé
T = Transport (station wagon)
D = Diesel
E = Einspritzung
R = Rennsport (racing)
G = Gelände
K = Kurz / Kompressor
But ever since Mercedes changed the names of their cars during the 1990s by putting a letter up front, they seem to have lost their meaning…at least partially.
Martin | Mar 20, 2009 | Reply
I think this car is called SLS because it’s something really new.
In Auto-Bild I read it will be the first car which is disigned by AMG completely. So it’s to different from the SLC or any other Mercedes-Benz which was build until now.
Marshall | Mar 30, 2009 | Reply
Mercedes the best car!