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Design
The design is a mix of retro and modern: there are large, roof-hinged gullwing doors, almost upright bi-xenon headlamps, a classic SL grille, a tapered plan view, LED tail lamps, a motorised rear spoiler and a pair of downforce-producing front and rear aprons. The wheels are 19-inch in the front and 20-inch in the back.
It’s not the most aerodynamic of shapes, apparently, our engineering sources claiming a drag coefficient of 0.35.
The electrical architecture is shared with the next E-class; six airbags will be standard in all markets.
This car will be – for Mercedes – a relatively niche player, with sales of just 6000 of each bodystyle and a production run scheduled to stop in 2013, the year after the next-generation SL arrives.
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