Mercedes SLS

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

If its in London or near a big Football club...thats no surprise

[andrew]

If its in London or near a big Football club...thats no surprise

That's this car screwed! As soon as a footballer buys one it is no longer desirable. Mind, I think Merc's are overpriced, terribly vulgar and not to mention common as muck (seriously, can't move in these here partsa without seeing on of these monstrosities so no loss to me.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

the SLS has an image and marketing problem and why the SLM is a strategic puzzle. Mercedes are not competing against the likes of the Aston Martins, 458s, MP4-12Cs etc.
It's a bitter pill for some of you to swallow I know but they're actually fending off Audi and BMW. That's all they're doing. Anything else is all a dream.......

Hmm 5000, yes 5000 units now sold with the order books still stretching 12 months for a custom order.

AMG have succeeded where McLaren have failed. Big statement, but the numbers do not lie, in 18 months AMG has trebled what Mclaren could do in 6 years.....and show profit.

[Cocles]

There were obviously a lot of people who had been waiting a long time (decades) for a Mercedes supercar. And, I know this is anecdotal, but the ones I knew first hand considered the SLR a "McLaren" and were still waiting for one throughout the last few recent years.

[xpensive]

Waiting for the "AMG Viper"?

[Cocles]

Waiting for the "AMG Viper"?

Being a huge fan of the SLS, I've had a number of people throw this at me. I finally contacted an acquaintance of mine who's a higher up at MBz in the United States (PM if you want his name, I'd rather not name drop publicly). His job though is to know the history of every car MBz has ever made: How they were developed, how they were made, how one repairs and maintains them, etc. etc.

According to him, the Viper chasis rumors were completely untrue, and likely started because the SLS mule used Viper panels, the same way the SLR mule used TVR panels.

Who knows how the rumor got started, but Chrysler/Dodge fans tend to hate on Daimler, and this rings of something they would come up with.

I do know the rumor went mainstream because Edmonds picked up on it and reported it as fact. Virtually every other automobile publication unfortunately then just parroted Edmonds instead of looking into it themselves.

[Cocles]

I arrive with some incite directly from a guy at MBz who would know the answer to that rumor, and the response I receive is, "it looks like a viper."

Then I also receive a catch phrase straight from Dodge's marketing department, "Built like a viper". What does that even mean?

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

@ Cocles

We know that the Viper story was created by edmunds with no foundation.

The truth of the matter is AMG designed every bit of the car from the ground up. Can you imagine for one second the horror show of what would happen if the Merc was a viper in fancy dress?

There are mules of this car doing the rounds in 2007 way before Chrysler even had this purported chassis in development. Its mischief making at its best.....

[munudeges]

On the contrary, there's quite a bit of foundation to the whole Viper story but it's obviously something some would rather just wasn't true. The chassis similarities in more than just panels are very striking. The first question that arises is why on Earth they would be running around SLS mules in Death Valley in the first place.

It would have been a very nice way of saving on costs though.

[Cocles]

Which chasis? The fourth generation Viper chasis? If so, could you post pics and point to the similarities you're referring to? I personally didn't see any striking similarities, which would make sense either way since the rumors pointed to a scrapped fifth generation chasis.

Or are you referring to the current fifth generation Viper chasis scheduled for 2012? If so, that'd be interesting, since that chasis is rumored to be based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.

As for Death Valley, MBz tests a lot of their cars there, so why would it be unusual to test the SLS there as well?

[Richard]

The first question that arises is why on Earth they would be running around SLS mules in Death Valley in the first place.

Probably for the same reason that McLaren ran the MP4-12C in Death Valley - altitude and heat.

[xpensive]

Oh come on, when I first saw the SLS live, if it hadn't been for the gull-wings I had taken it for a Viper!

[Cocles]

Well, we now have the SLS Roadster... and it doesn't look anything like a Viper.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Ahh yes that superlative argument "it looks like a bird, therefore it must be".

The Honda S2000 must therefore also be based on the Viper, and so will any car with long nose/stubby rear. Wow these Chrysler guys were genius! - See what I did there?

I already posted a link a few pages back whereby the rumours where dispelled because of some creative yank journalism that was re heated by a few other hacks.

Note none of the authoritative press have mentioned anything regards this supposed link, because it is utter rubbish. Thats right Rubbish.
Until someone provides evidence it will remain so.


Amusing to read some historical posts alluding to the Chrysler ME12 being the car using the SLS chassis(or AMG having "stolen" it, whichever your inclination really)..... that was midengined!

[Giblet]

I saw this movie the other day, can't remember the name, where an SLS actually turned into a giant robot, it was amazing.

I've never seen a Viper do that, so therefore.......