Here it is… the long awaited 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL! The 2013 SL was unveiled to the public at the North America International Auto Show in Detroit last month, this particular 2013 SL550 was delivered to Sears Imports Mercedes Benz this morning to be cleaned up and made ready for the 39th Annual Twin Cities Auto Show.
In my opinion, the new 2013 looks better in person than it does in photos. I’m never one to LOVE a new body style as soon as I see it, it took me months to get my head around the new body style E class that was released back in the Summer of 2009 as a 2010 model, but this car looks great in the flesh.
Automotive writers and everyone else normally don’t like the new model of anything either, people don’t like change… but have the Mercedes-Benz designers ever screwed up an SL? Nope, and they aren’t going to start now. The new SL, by design, bares quite a resemblance to the SLS AMG Gullwing. The hood looks and feels quite similar, the upright, vertical grille with huge Mercedes-Benz star is the direction they’ve taken all the models… from the SLK to the new M class. The hood has fins and an array of compound curves that look similar to the SLS, the car looks wicked, just standing still. The side vents on the front quarter panels, are not only functional cooling ducts and a nod to the SLS AMG, but also a nod to the car that started it all, the 300SL of the 1950s.
Side vents go all the way back to this 300SL roadster and its contemporaries.
The front headlights on the new 2013 SL have a yellow outline over the top of them, not unlike the ‘eye brows’ you see on some Audi vehicles these days. Daytime running LED lamps are incorporated into the lower front bumper.
The engine is the real heart of this Bavarian beast, the new 4.7-liter, turbo-charged, V8 produces 429 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, 0 – 60mph comes up quickly in just 4.5 seconds, top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph.
The interior has a whole new look and feel, it’s quite similar to the SLS, from the transmission selector to the aluminum vent openings to the back lit Bang & Olufsen tweeters on the dash, the new SL doesn’t fall far from the SLS tree on many levels.
This is a classic Mercedes SL color combo, a great looking red leather interior on this car.
The new 2013 SL is larger in every dimension than the outgoing model, yet it sheds 175 lbs. from its total weight, largely due to its almost completely aluminum construction.
There are a number of new options available on the new 2013 SL, one of the most talked about leading up to the car’s introduction has been the Magic Sky Control roof option, currently available on the new SLK. While a glass panorama roof has been available since the detachable hard top days of the R129 SL models, this is the first SL model to offer the new Magic Sky Control option. You’ve basically got a glass panel in the retractable hard top, a lot like the regular panorama roof, but there’s a button inside, near the map lights… when you press this button, light blocking crystals in the glass re-align, tinting the glass panel to keep bright sun out, if you don’t want it in… I tried it this morning on this car… and it seems like magic indeed.
I haven’t pulled out my tape measure or actually read the specific dimensions, but this trunk looks larger than the outgoing model’s. There is plenty of room for a couple of overnight bags and even golf clubs in the back.
You can see this car, in person at the 39th Annual Twin Cities Auto Show being held at the Minneapolis Convention Center starting this Saturday, March 10, running through Sunday March 18th. I will be working the show, in the Mercedes Benz booth on Saturday the 10th from 4:00pm to 10:00pm… come by and say hello!