Mercedes SLS Gullwing Sounds Pretty Good - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

///m\\\ · 4th September 2009, 04:46

I'm very interested to see what Mercedes can bring to the table with this car.
Here is the article link from Car and Driver: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG - First Drive Review - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver

"Once the engine is ignited—via a button on the dash, naturally—it idles with a deep thrum. Toe the throttle a bit, and the revs gather quickly, as in a race engine, and the aural accompaniment becomes more metallic in tone. Lift the throttle, and the engine speed drops as quickly as it rises. Floored from a stop, the acceleration is nothing less than explosive: Mercedes claims a 0-to-62-mph time of an astonishing 3.8 seconds. (Mercedes’ estimates are notoriously conservative.) The engine note under load is a throaty war cry that changes into a sort of zinging buzz saw above 4500 rpm. The engine response above 6000 rpm is as direct as any we’ve ever felt—and that includes the Ferrari F430’s masterful V-8. Top speed is governed at 196 mph.

The SLS understeers slightly on corner entry, but the optional carbon-ceramic brakes, the immediate throttle response, and the talkative steering—perhaps the sharpest rack ever to be fitted to a Mercedes road car—make repositioning the car a snap. Give it midcorner throttle, and the car gently transitions to easily controllable oversteer. The SLS is wonderfully neutral (helped by the nearly ideal 48/52-percent front-to-rear weight distribution), and sitting so close to the rear axle means you can easily determine what the car’s doing and take immediate action. It is mind-blowingly simple to drive the SLS quickly.

High exit speeds are aided by a mechanical limited-slip differential that offers 30-percent lock under load; it provides 60-percent lock under deceleration. Grip is high, to say the least, thanks in part to the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires developed specially for the SLS. They measure a beefy 295/30-19 in the back and 265/35-19 up front. Suspension is by forged aluminum control arms all around, and a wide track (66.1 inches in the front and 64.9 inches in back) imparts stability. The coupe will eventually spawn an SLS roadster and the SLS eDrive, which is a fully electric version that replaces the raucous V-8 with lithium-ion batteries and four individual electric motors.

The new Gullwing is incredible; even in this prototype form, it is clearly every bit the driver’s car the SLR wasn’t. We won’t be able to afford an SLS when it goes on sale next spring—unless it’s a ’95 Cadillac SLS that pops up on eBay—but customers with the means will be able to nab one for $175,000 or so. We’re already green with envy."