Mercedes-AMG SL 63 | Quick Spin
An early morning drive up the mountains around Nice in the 2022 Mercedes-AMG SL 63 4MATIC+, the stuff dreams are made of.
In May this year I was invited to attend the annual Mercedes-Benz Design Essentials, an event organised in and around Nice, France. To move around in between locations, the company had a fleet on site. And you guessed it, in this fleet was their 2022 Mercedes-AMG SL 63. I had to the opportunity to take it for an early-morning spin before flying back home.
A drive which took me up the mountains around Nice, twisty ones with large rock walls entombing the tarmac. But let’s get one thing straight: this isn’t a full review. No, this article is here mostly to facilitate a space for the pictures I took during that drive. And since a short drive is in no way a base for a full review. It is simply a little taste, as this article serves as appetizer for the review will be doing in Augustus.
Gorden Wagener, the brand’s chief designer, said in an interview that “…designing sexy cars is the easiest thing to do.” I can’t judge about that but this is the first SL designed under his supervision and if you ask me, he nailed it. The long bonnet, the sexy rear, it finally feels equally sexy to the SL that started it all. Something the generations in between haven’t been able to pull off.
Hint of the old SL are present though, but are mostly abstract. Which means that only when the designer points them out, you see the parallel between the old and the new. Isn’t it far fetched calling out the parallels then? Maybe, but in contrast to sexy cars being relatively easy to design, nailing a retro design in extremely difficult.
You want cars that looks this good, to sound good as well. The Mercedes-AMG SL 63 delivers on that despite having the EU obligated particle filter. It roars in true AMG fashion in Sport+, with all the lovely noises along with it. This is in big contrast with other drive modes though, where its exhaust note simply muted, even with the top down.
And you want cars that look and sounds this good, to drive good as well. The drivetrain in the 2022 SL 63 delivers on that part of the driving experience. Where many cars have lost cylinders in their latest iteration, the SL was born with a V8 from Affalterbach (leaving out the SL 43 here for sake of the story). In the ‘63’ flavour the V8 delivers a peak output of 585 HP and a massive 800 Nm. Zero to a hundred is met in 3.6 seconds but with the top down it feels a lot quicker. The sheer violence that can be unleashed from the drivetrain is petrol head bliss.
What about the rest? Well, I’m not spilling all the beans as Kenny will have plenty to tell when he’s done testing, but there’s no deal breaker for SL. Not when it comes to driving, the interior, or finish of the vehicle. Mercedes-AMG’s thoroughbred SL in a killer in every way and this article is a tribute to the insanely desirable package it offers. A package I keep reminiscing about, about that drive in May, about that sunrise, and about those endless twisty roads. Let’s see how Kenny gets infected by these dreams too after August. Stay tuned.
