Tour around In a Grand
Will a mid- cycle refresh bring back the coveted status to the 2017 Mercedes- Benz sl 400? Top speed Good BAD
he Mercedes- Benz SL- Class, what we all know as a convertible, actually started out as a street- legal Grand Prix car coupe back in 1954, under the nameplate 300 SL. It was all thanks to an American called Max Hoffman who thought it would be the perfect performance toy for the rich. Besides having gullwing doors — the greatest gesture of style — it also had direct injection technology and was the fastest road car of its time.
The generations that followed, although not as flamboyant, were exquisitely styled and real definitions of the ‘ Grand Tourer’. The 6th generation, launched in 2012, was a surprisingly lacklustre model and somehow got lost in Merc’s large portfolio of vehicles.
But the brand with the 3- pointed star has revamped the car.
So, we borrowed a 2017 Mercedes- Benz SL 400 for a couple of days to seek out its improvements and come up with a verdict.
DESIGN & AESTHETICS
The SL has been a roadster — a 2- door convertible — for much of its 63- year life and, even today, the tradition of carrying a long bonnet, short rear deck, a low- slung body and a convertible roof top continues.
The 2017 SL isn’t a brand- new car; it is a revamp of the car that created an awkward silence when the curtains dropped in 2012. People didn’t like it too much and, much like caviar, we thought it was an acquired taste… or perhaps we were in denial. But with the facelift comes a new face. The front end has been made sportier, and it’s mainly got to do with the new diamond radiator grille — a set of evenly spaced chrome dots floating about on an invisible canvas — as we have seen in the rest of the range. The headlamps, that previously looked bulbous, are sleeker now and congruous with the sleek nose that houses new full LED headlights. The car has been given more width, thanks to the gaping AMG intakes in the front and air slits in the back.
The whole design is more harmonious, and even more beautiful than its predecessor and is great furniture for your villa’s driveway. But it doesn’t quite deliver the visual magic of SLS of the yesteryears.
How about a technical point of view? The ‘ SL’ is short for Super Leicht, which translates to Super- Light. It’s not quite been so for the longest time, with some generation models weighing as much as large sedans. Now, for the first time, Mercedes- Benz has implemented an all- aluminium bodyshell — the Atkins Diet in the auto industry — and with that they’ve created a bodyshell that weighs around 110kg less than a conventional steel one.
The gullwing doors may have disappeared with the first generation, but here you have the Mercedes emblem shining down on the ground as puddle lamps to greet you, and a switchable ambient lighting system that lets you play with the many interior colours.