Love the SLS? Wish it were smaller and cheaper (but still powered by the 6.2)?

JimCorrigan

JimCorrigan

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Bam!

This has promise...


2015-mercedes-amg-slc-rendered-christian-schulte-illustration-inline-photo-454206-s-original.jpg


Car And Driver said:
The evolution of the AMG subbrand can be divided into three eras?pre-Benz ownership, when AMG merely tuned Mercedes cars; subsidiary status, as vehicle development became contemporaneous; and the post-SLS period, from 2009 on, when AMG got serious about engineering and building its own sports cars for the Star. Even as it continues to tune and modify sedans, coupes, roadsters, and SUVs for Mercedes, AMG will expand its own portfolio of track-ready sports cars for purists.

The key to this growth is the SLS?s highly versatile platform. Its aluminum structure can be stretched or shortened to create new models, and it?s readily adaptable to coupe and roadster duty. Putting the SLS platform into a taffy stretcher allows AMG to go after the Ferrari 599?s successor. Hit the SLS with a shrink ray, and you get an aluminum two-seat sports car aimed at Porsche?s Cayman/Boxster. The shorter version is likely to be called the SLC, and it will arrive in 2014.

The SLS defines AMG?s design language, and the look will port over to the SLC. The long nose and bobtail proportions will remain but on a smaller scale. The SLC will be roughly the size of a Porsche 911, with a wheelbase of about 96.5 inches and an overall length of 173.0. At an estimated 47.5 inches high and 71.0 inches wide, the SLC will be short and fat but in the best possible way. Despite its 911-aping size, our sources tell us to expect the SLC to drive like a hard-edged sports car, more in the mold of the Cayman than Porsche?s larger GT.

Unlike the SLS, the SLC will not have gullwing doors. But like the SLS, the roadster version will have a fabric top. Cues from Mercedes? history are instrumental to the plan. Bars on the front fenders behind the wheels are an homage to the 1954 ?300SL coupe. Roadster versions will get an aerodynamic rollover bar behind the headrests that resembles a fairing ?fitted to 1954?55 W196 Formula 1 racers. Symbolically injecting itself fully into Mercedes? bloodstream, AMG will drop ?Benz? from the badges for the Affalterbach specials: They?ll be emblazoned ?Mercedes-AMG.?

Much of ?the SLC?s cabin design will come from the SLS. You?ll see familiar jet-like gauges, HVAC vents, and switchgear. In fact, don?t expect radical interior changes in future Mercedes-AMG models.

AMG?s 6.2-liter V-8 will be mounted as far back and as low in the SLC as possible. To not encroach on the SLS?s turf, this engine will be slightly detuned. We anticipate the SLC?s specs to be similar to the C63 AMG?s, with output ranging from 451 to 481 horsepower. Dry-sump lubrication, the limited-slip differential, and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic with launch-control programming will carry over from the SLS. In an attempt to conserve fuel, there will be a stop-start system; cylinder deactivation is also under consideration.

As noted previously, a shortened version of the SLS?s aluminum space frame underpins aluminum bodywork. Unlike the SLS, which offers a carbon-fiber hood, the SLC will get only a less costly aluminum one. The SLC, however, will get the SLS?s carbon-fiber torque tube, which serves as a structural component. Chassis parts will be adapted from the SLS?front and rear aluminum control-arm setups will ?suspend 20-inch wheels. Carbon-ceramic brakes will be optional. Using so much of ?the SLS?s structure and powertrain means that the SLC should weigh about 3700 pounds.

With various Porsches in its sights, it should come as no surprise that the SLC is expected to hit 60 mph in about 3.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 190 mph. ?A price of roughly $90,000 should put this ?AMG on any Porsche shopper?s list.
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Don't really understand the point of this car. The SLS feels less unique now.
 
I'm sorry but no matter how much they try a sports car just cannot have a slush box. I don't understand why they don't run a PDK or whatever so that you can stick it in auto-shift mode but still have a real transmission.
 
Well, the render is not very accurate (but that's hardly a surprise)
 
Car & Driver's renders are the worst. So are Road & Track's. And Automobile's. Also, Motor Trend's...
 
Viper007Bond said:
I'm sorry but no matter how much they try a sports car just cannot have a slush box. I don't understand why they don't run a PDK or whatever so that you can stick it in auto-shift mode but still have a real transmission.
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Just like the PDK, this box is a dual clutch robotized manual. The Getrag box is found among others in the SLS, BMW M3 and M5, Ferrari 458, and others.
 
What I read: "we are going to make a shorter, lighter and generally more sporty version of the SLS" ... that sounded good, then ... this caught my eye:
[...]To not encroach on the SLS?s turf, this engine will be slightly detuned. [...] In an attempt to conserve fuel, there will be a stop-start system
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Let?s face it, It`s going to be aimed at hairdressers.
 
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NecroJoe said:
Car & Driver's renders are the worst. So are Road & Track's. And Automobile's. Also, Motor Trend's...
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Most of them are done by the same people
 
I like rowing my own, but DSG is the future. I haven't used them, but pedals still allow you to control things.
 
As long as it has a manual mode that is so manual that it lets you bounce it off the rev limiter and still doesn't shift as a matter of self-preservation, I'm A-OK with it. :) Until I come across something within my price range like that, I'll stick with buying a manual in my next car.
 
p0w3r said:
which doesnt make sense as it has a dual-clutch gearbox as already pointed out by both the article and Adunaphel above...
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For the DC boxes I usually say "sweet automatic, brah". (As the clutch is automatically actuated. Yes, I know that's not the traditional usage of the term).
 
Car and Driver said:
Despite its 911-aping size, our sources tell us to expect the SLC to drive like a hard-edged sports car, more in the mold of the Cayman than Porsche?s larger GT. [...] Using so much of ?the SLS?s structure and powertrain means that the SLC should weigh about 3700 pounds.
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Those two statements don't really agree with each other. A 911 Carrera S weighs 3075 pounds, so how is something 20% heavier going to be harder-edged? And even with the top-end estimate of 481 hp, it's got the same power-to-weight as a Carrera S, so it's not going to sway any performance-minded Porsche buyers. Methinks this is another hairdresser's car, as Interrobang said.
 
As a rule, I want any car they put the 6.2 into. So by all means AMG, go ahead. I can't wait to hear one driving down the street.
 
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