By Ranojoy Mukerji

The SL name returns to India after a long time, cementing its place as the flagship of sports cars for Mercedes-Benz India.

The SL was available in India till about a few years back, and then disappeared. In the meantime, after a lot of iterations, it has finally made it back here as the SL 55 AMG 4Matic+. The new edition of the Mercedes‑AMG SL returns to its roots with a classic soft top and sporty character. As a 2+2‑seater, it is capable of regular use especially because you can raise the front end by a full 30mm and also offers the fully variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive.

Let’s however take a brief look at the history of the SL. Initially, the first 300 SL was a racing sports car built in 1952 with no intention of developing a street version. In 1954, an American importer Max Hoffman suggested a street version of 300 SL for wealthy performance car enthusiasts in the United States where the market for personal luxury cars was booming after the Second World War. The 300 SL was a road-going version of the W198 racing car with extensive modifications to the body. The 300 SL in coupé form was introduced in 1954, featuring its trademark ‘gullwing doors.’ In 1957, the roadster succeeded the coupé and had the larger conventional passenger doors and larger form-fitting headlamps and was in production until 1963. The ‘Gullwing’ of course has been the most famous of all SLs, with average examples changing hands at US$1,539,050/- or around INR 3.5crores…for a car made from 1954 to 1957! The German magazine, auto motor und sport, declared in its 2012 special edition issue of Mercedes-Benz SL that Rudolf Uhlenhaut, widely acknowledged as the father of the 300SL —in his notarised letter—indicated the ‘SL’ abbreviation stood for ‘Super Leicht.’ (Super Light).

Now, the latest SL is back in India. It has now, in addition to becoming a soft top once again comes with two new rear seats – good for kids (does this make it a family sports car??!!).

High-tech components such as the AMG ACTIVE RIDE CONTROL suspension with active anti-roll stabilisation, rear-axle steering, the optionally available AMG ceramic high-performance composite braking system and the standard-fit DIGITAL LIGHT with projection function sharpen the sporty specification. You also get a looming large grill up front, a long bonnet with two power scoops, quad exhausts and 20-inch alloys.

Let’s now talk about a new distinguishing feature, the fabric roof. Earlier, SL roofs were made of metal, which gave them that amazing ‘coupe-cabriolet’ look, but the new fabric roof leaves no doubt about its cabriolet looks. The fabric roof comes in three colours – black, dark red and grey and can be opened or closed in 16 seconds, at speeds of upto 60kmph.

In keeping with all new cars’ fascination with iPad like screens, the center console on the SL too is a 11.9-inch portrait type touchscreen with beautiful graphics. It uses Mercedes’ propriety MBUX OS to control all features of the car, including the fabric roof operation. Now that analogue meters for the dashboard are gone (oh, how I miss them!) you get a 12.3-inch screen in front of the driver that can display any personalised performance content. Of course, as you know I am very fond of the sound system in Mercedes cars and the SL 55 AMG 4Matic+does not disappoint with its bespoke Burmester sound system – 17 speakers including a subwoofer, output of 1,220 watts, 3D sound, ring radiator for high frequencies and a hybrid amplifier for a naturally warm sound. In one word – the sound system rocks!

In terms of mechanical specs, the 4.0-litre twin turbo petrol makes 470bhp and 700Nm of torque, good for a 0-100kmph sprint of 3.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 295kmph. You also get rear axle steering, means that the rear wheels turn too when you enter a curve for better stability. Speed breakers? No problem – the front axle raises by 30mm at the push of a button when going over bumps and returns to normal after exceeding 40kmph. A lot of tech here!

So, what is the price for all this luxury combined with techno-wizardry? The SL55 AMG 4Matic+ costs INR 2.35 crore, ex-showroom. It will be brought into India from Germany as a fully built up unit and if you want one, well – you are late as all examples destined for India this year are all sold out! Maybe next year…