Mercedes AMG Roadster SLS (2011) More Photos

AMG has released a total portfolio of images for future SLS AMG Roadster, which gives us the first comprehensive view of the drop-top sports car V8, before his debut in the fall of 2011.

SLS Mercedes AMG Roadster: the lowdown (top-down)

Off come the SLS Gullwing doors, is the roof structure and a set of hinged doors to match the classic convertible hood. It is a soft-top electric drive with three layers of glass heated rear window, capable of making the transition from "the English summer ..." Closed "does not rain! Opened in 11 seconds. The roof folds in a Z-shaped break behind the seats above the trunk, in only 173 liters 3 liters lsoes SLS court, and make its act of rapid change at a speed of 31 mph. You can have your top SLS Roadster is soft on the outside and inside eight nine standard colors black, red or beige depending on your choice.

Inside it is almost the same within the SLS, lower thresholds and new armrests and card design to match the door of conventional doors. Climate control Airscarf headrest is optional, but fixed roll bars, eight airbags and a slot-in plastic air deflector is standard with SLS AMG Roadster. Also on the options list is interior Bang & Olufsen BeoSound AMG hello-fi, and AMG Performance Media: a timing system and telemetry, which includes mobile Internet access.

Mercedes AMG Roadster SLS: chassis and dynamics

Removing the roof coupe SLS is required further strengthening of the aluminum space frame structure. Extra reinforcement has been installed behind the dashboard that the semi-sills and behind the cab, well-established pillars. The end result is that the Roadster tips the scales at 1660kg, 40kgs more than the Coupé. Comparing SLS Roadster in front of the other two-seater equipped with the V8, aluminum-bodied Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster is 1690kg unladen weight, while the composite-bodied Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport convertible is a relatively slender 1492kg.

SLS AMG Roadster is equipped with a reduction in the fixed interest rate, but the AMG adaptvie three levels of damping Ride Control is a watch list. With the new roadster, has Comfort, Sport and Sport + suspension settings, and have offered to SLS after the Roadster Coupe has been launched.

Mercedes AMG Roadster SLS: power and performance

SLS AMG Roadster retains 6.2-liter AMG engine coupe, with the transmission rate seven-speed AMG Shift, which maintains the bridge location and torque tube carbon fiber to 47:53 front: rear weight distribution . V8 makes 563bhp at 6800rpm and 479 pounds feet of torque at 4750rpm. Mercedes quotes a 3.8sec 0-62 mph time and a top speed of 197 mph for SLS AMG Roadster.

This type of statistics you can guess the fuel economy is not going to remain silent Prius Hollywood contingent - 21.4mpg combined and 308g/km CO2, and the dynamic energy recovery system to reduce the load on the charger, but not the automatic engine stop-start or an activation function of the cylinder. Best practices for the entire life-cycle energy consumption and the questionable purity of hybrid technology, mantra, or buy carbon offset credits to soothe your conscience.

When I can buy SLS Mercedes AMG Roadster?

If you have been tempted by muscular AMG two-seater, but he did not like the butterfly doors, the court is hello Mercedes dealership in November 2011. Prices for the UK market has not yet been announced, but a coupe starts SLS currently £ 168 395 and European list price for the Roadster will be € 195,160 (169,208 pounds), including VAT. Wait a premium for the SLS hood when it arrives in the UK, just in time for winter. O Christmas, if you're feeling generous.

Latest In A Mobile Revolution By Mercedes-Benz dealerships

Mercedes Benz has announced one of the most advance and technically superior offer to the dealers in the form of Apple iPads. The company has started the MB advantage program in which the facilities to dealers are being focused highly. This innovative approach of offering iPads to all of the dealers will help the dealers immensely in making the financial decisions even when they are not in the offices.

The operating system of these iPads is also quite simpler and static. The salesperson can feed the VIN number of any of the Mercedes Benz cars and he will be able to get the latest schemes, discounts and net prices of the model offered by the company for that particular mode entered. This facility will allow the sales person to work freely even when they are not in the offices or any of the popular places. Mercedes Benz received many of the complains regarding to the problem of asking the latest prices and offered of models every now and then which was hurting the impression and performances of the dealers. With these facilities, they will be having readily availability of the prices and other factors of any of the models which will definitely boost their confidence and will make them traveling freely without any hesitation of calling back to offices for each and every smaller detail.

Another benefit of these iPads is that the sales person or the dealers who are offering the Mercedes Benz models on hire will be able to recheck the car when they are offered back by the hirers and will be able to write down all the possible damages of scratches by standing in front of the cars itself. This facility may not sound quite attractive but practically their significance is quite higher. Many of the dealers are facing the problem of rectifying the scratches or damages in the cars that are given for hiring purposes. It will become quite simpler for the sales person or the dealers to go outside with the iPads, to write down the scratches or the condition reports and to feed it in the computers when they are into the office.

“This is a mobile revolution into the dealerships and we are quite intended to do so as we wish to have our dealers falling no where short in performance”, said the Vice President of Marketing of Mercedes Benz Andreas Hinrichs while an interview to Wall Street Journal yesterday. This is truly the revolution and we need to appreciate the presence of mind and the innovative approach of Mercedes Benz.

Daimler boss plan for small car mercedes

Small cars were the big message from Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche as CAR sat down with him at the 2011 Geneva motor show to discuss the future of Smart.



Electric vehicles - the future of Smart?

Smart will not become an electric car specialist, despite sticking to its small car roots, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche pledgedj. ‘Smart is an ideal car for cities, and certainly in cities electric drive will be good for Smart,' he said. 'But it will be a long time before EVs replace internal combustion engines in general and that goes for Smart as well’.

Dr Zetsche believes that in a demand-driven marketplace, without major incentives or regulatory changes, many consumers will choose vehicles without the range or charging issues associated with current EVs.

That doesn’t mean Mercedes is staying out of the EV game. Rumours that the upcoming A-class EV had been scrapped were dismissed by Dr Zetsche.

Smart moves in the US?

The shift of Smart’s US sales distribution from Penske Automotive Group to Mercedes-Benz does not represent the end of Smart in the US. Penske had done an excellent job for Merc launching Smart in the US in 2008, claimed Dr Z, achieving a mutually-unexpected first-year sales of 27,000 units. But the subsequent freefall to 5000 Smarts annually put the dealer network’s viability in doubt.

'An alternative was to take a network which is strong and stands on its own, and can have some added volume with Smart. That’s the Mercedes US network. So that’s one part of the logic.'

There's another important reason. 'The other is that you are required to create CO2 credits in California and other states and we intend to do that through Smart,' he said. 'As these are essential to our other sales then strategically it would be questionable if you were not in control with that part of the business.'


Economies of scale – a question of alliances

Audi seems to have the best of both worlds – premium image and pricing, but economies of scale from sharing components with other VW group’s brands. How could Mercedes compete with this?

Dr Zetsche disputed the assumption, claiming that when it came to the premium-segment vehicles (C-class to S-class), Audi could not leverage economies of scale to compete with Mercedes as easily as in the sub-compact segment (with its A1 and A3).

To compete with the VW Group at the lower level, Mercedes has been chasing economies of scale. 'That's exactly what drove us to the decision to go into cooperation with Renault,' explained Zetsche. 'To combine and develop small four-cylinder engines together and benefit from the high volumes, and on the other hand do the next Smart platform together (and based on the architecture of Smart) is right for us'.

The next-gen Smart ForTwo will be co-developed with the Mk3 Twingo, but Daimler has convinced Renault to morph its conventional city car into a rear-engined, rear-drive runabout. We'll see the first fruits of the Daimler-Renault alliance in 2012.