An Icon Reimagined

Mercedes-Benz’s most pedigreed roadster returns with a new form, chassis, and intent.

- PARTH CHARAN

ONCE A GENTEEL grand tourer and, incidentally, a '90s Bollywood movie fixture, the Mercedes-Benz SL now stands rapidly transformed. In fact, one look at its scowling face, teeth-baring grille, and razor-sharp air-intakes and it's practically impossible to join the dots all the way back to the SL of 20 years ago, whose sole purpose was to breathe joy into long road trips in a way only a drop-top can. The kind that is accompanied by main character epiphanies and the forging of unbreakable bonds. From the Saab convertible in As Good As It Gets to the Goabound SL600 in Dil Chahta Hai-a plush, front-engined roadster can be quite an effective plot device.

This is, however, the SL55 AMG-a V8-powered, Affalterbach-made sledgehammer of a grand tourer that's part AMG GT lite and part Porsche 911 rival. It's a big, fire-breathing, do-it-all, sub-supercar with massive flared wheel arches and styling so aggressive you don't even have to look under the hood to find AMG's fingerprints all over it; it is, after all, the first SL to be developed by AMG. Should you pop the hood-and you absolutely should-you'll find a hand-built 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. The kind that's heading for extinction faster than the white rhino. Still, the SL55 AMG doesn't signify a terminal point in Merc's R&D, but rather a starting one. With an all-new aluminium monocoque and all-new underpinnings, it is one of the brand's most contemporary supercars and will even share bits with the upcoming AMG GT.