The article was originally produced on November 29, 2010, some facts and prices may have changed since then.

Mercedes SLS AMG

The first thing that happens when I get into the Medcedes SLS is to bang my head on the open door, it's really not part of the habit to have the door above you when you get in the car. Once in the car, you have to stretch a little to reach the door handle to close it behind you. When the door has closed, you find a tight, ergonomic compartment that feels incredibly racier thanks to the fact that the windshield sits very close to you. And in front of it stretches an almost infinite hood. The view is magnificent and what comes now will soon be forgotten.

When the first pictures appeared of the Mercedes SLS, there was a lot of talk, and when the car was finally presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2009, probably no one was disappointed, the SLS had already become a classic. The shapes may not be to everyone's taste at once, but the rawness of the design SLS possesses is in a very unique way. When an SLS comes rolling down the street, everyone will turn and when you park and open the door and hopefully don't hit your head when you get out, a lot of eyes will fall on you, that's one hundred percent sure.

When my finger depresses the start button next to the gear selector, a deep vintage sound comes from the 6.2-liter V8 as it fires up. Since the car is cold, the idle speed is higher to bring up the temperature of the engine and gearbox as quickly as possible. This also means that the sound from the two big pipes at the end of the car will live on in your mind far into your dreams. This is, however, a hint of what is to come.

The SLS AMG is completely German built, unlike the SLR which was a collaboration with British McLaren. There is no doubt that the technicians at Mercedes and AMG had to work extra hard to realize the SLS, that partly outshining the SLR but also carrying on the legacy from the classic 300 SL is not something you do in the blink of an eye. Mercedes had great success in the long races Le Mans, Nürburgring and Carrera Panamericana with the 300 SL in the 1950s.

After a while of leisurely gliding through town and a little familiarization with the car's functions, the road widens and the possibility of letting the SLS stretch out. The gas pedal falls mutely to its bottom and the V8 snorts into action like a rocket. The feeling that occurs at full speed is like being hit by a locomotive from behind. The gear programs available are C for Controlled Efficiency and not Comfort, then Sport, Sport+ and manual. The gear program that is now set is Sport+, which causes the gears to shoot through like bullets from a machine gun. The sound from the engine at full throttle is among the sharpest and rawest you can get in a standard car at the moment. And once again, everyone's attention on a perimeter of Stockholm's inner city has been directed towards you.

The placement of the engine in the SLS is behind the front axle making it a front-mounted mid-engine car. The curb weight is 47/53 thanks to the gearbox being mounted on the rear axle and this gives the SLS excellent driving characteristics. Much of the technology used in the construction is found in Mercedes DTM racing cars. The engine which is the classic AMG V8 of 6.2 liters and not 6.3 as the emblems say, these are just a legacy from an old Mercedes model. The V8 in the SLS is of a high-revving nature and produces a whopping 571 horses and 650 newtons of torque. The brakes all around are enough to stop most things and for SEK 110,000 extra you can get ceramic brakes that will stop even a little more and never get tired of doing it.

When I feel that my driver's license is hanging on too loose a thread, I cut off the acceleration, that's when the most wonderful thing about the soundscape occurs, in an absolutely phenomenal way, the exhaust system starts blubbering and banging as the engine slows down, something that the Mercedes technicians have done completely deliberately, of course, and certainly spent many hours on it. That such a high class engine would leave behind so much unburned fuel that ignites and becomes a bang does not belong in 2010 but oh so cool. Being allowed to build a car like the Mercedes SLS should almost be illegal!

+THE SOUND, the design.

-Watch your head when exiting and entering. Interior controls not 100%