Scintillating new SL

HANDS up all those who knew that SL stood for sport and light. When the first-generation Mercedes-Benz SL (the cool one with the gullwing doors) was unveiled to impressed oohs and aahs back in the 1950s, those were the two guiding principles of the car.

Although the SL always stayed sporty through subsequent generations, it got progressively larger and safer and subsequently packed on the kilos. The new generation SL launched in South Africa this week has now taken a step back to its roots with a new aluminium body that sheds up to 140kg, depending on model, over its steel-bodied predecessor, despite growing in size.

Whether it’s as easy on the eye as it is on the scale is up to the individual beholder, but Merc’s designers have gone quite radical in the restyling of their luxury two-seat roadster/coupé. The new SL follows the styling path forged by its SLS and SLK cousins (and the original 300 SL) with its blunter new nose. If not necessarily as sleek and pretty as the last SL, it is certainly more masculine. The folding hardtop takes 19 seconds to fold up or down, and cold-weather driving is made possible by heated seats and an air scarf that blows hot air onto your neck and shoulders.

The sixth-generation SL offers three versions of the folding roof: painted, with a glass roof or with the unique panoramic vario-roof with Magic Sky Control – a transparent roof that switches to light or dark at the push of a button. Other new features include a unique Frontbass system which turns the car into a concert hall whether the top is open or closed, and a Magic Vision Control windscreen wipe/wash system with the spray nozzles built directly into the wiper blades.