To me, late spring is the ideal time to have a convertible. It’s not too hot or cold, winter is behind you and the days are already getting longer. But in all fairness, I’d have the new Mercedes-AMG SL63 Roadster regardless of the season – and here’s why.
It was 1952 when the SL300 first hit the Motorsport arena, and what an introduction. It took out first and second place at the 24 hours of LeMan and then went on to get the first four positions of the Nurburgring. Two years later (1954) Mercedes produced their legendary or iconic 300 Gullwing and haven’t looked back since. Anyway, 70 car years later comes the new 2024 SL63, a car that not only has its roots firmly ensconced in the 300, but embraces almost all its core attributes.
Firstly its design, at 4.7m long and 1.35m tall, the 2+2 features a lovely long bonnet, minimal overhangs and a cabin that sits towards the rear of its 2.7m wheelbase. It’s topless too, well can be in just 15 seconds, and at speeds of up to 60km/h. It’s also unique, not sharing any panels with any of its AMG cousins, even the GT.
Up front is a 17-slat PanAmericana grille, an AMG badge (rather than a four-pointer) gullPing big vents and LED lights that are narrow and menacing looking. The SL63’s low profile is enhanced by its huge 21-inch feet that, thanks to its AWD and rear wheel steering, stick to the tarmac like glue (or navigate downtown with ease), while the rear is a work of art with stylised LEDs, a retractable spoiler, quad exhaust tips and a boot that offers 240L of luggage space (213L with the roof down).
There’s more art under its long bonnet too, namely a 4L bi-turbo V8 that’s just been handcrafted by one man (unfortunately I couldn’t read his signature). It’s mated to a 9-speed Speedshift box. Together they produce 430 kW of power and 800 Nm of torque. It’s 0 to 100 time is around about 3.5 seconds and under high revs (and in Sport+ or Race) it sounds angrier than my wife when I’ve ‘forgotten’ to put the bins out.
Slip inside and you’re greeted to what Merc calls a ‘hyper-analogue’ cabin. Now I know that this is marketing speak, but it’s essentially a mix of state of the art tech but with a manual feel. The fixtures and fitting are very upmarket and yet have a toughness about them in case of being caught in the rain or left with the top down.
I particularly like the fact that the infotainment screen can be tilted to lessen sun strike, and there are buttons and dials to raise and lower both the roof and the rear spoiler.
I had been given the new performance Roadster for a week, and of course I used it every which way I could, including my son’s demand of the daily school run. But with all chores done (or forgotten) I took the time to really get to know it.
Push button start brings the hefty V8 to life, and boy it sounds good. With the sun riding high, I dropped the top and set off for a drive north of Auckland.
The large wheelbase means that there’s actually quite a lot of room in the cabin, and although the raking a-pillar slopes down towards you, visibility is good (even with the roof up). There are a large number of driving modes, but I mainly slipped between cruisy comfort and Sport+/Race, the latter making the engine pop and sports exhaust really sing!
The SL63 does sit low on the ground, but should you be worried about speed bumps, you can raise the ride height at the flick of a switch, and it will automatically hunker down when the speed goes up – and believe me, the speed does go up.
Off the mark, the SL63 is brutal, and from there on in, (should you so choose), is a white knuckle ride that has the world passing by at the blink of an eye. The ultra-smart suspension set up, AWD and AW-steer has you slipping around the corners without any slip (that should make sense) and did I mention the sound of its powertrain!
However, on the flipside, the SL63 can, and does, drive as a grand tourer, with a ride that’s firm but not overly jarring and with the roof down and sun shining, you are gloriously bathed in vitamin-D.
The Mercedes-AMG SL63 is a roadster that’s a joy to drive fast or slow, it’s unique in so many ways but remains true to its 300 roots. It may not have gullwing doors, but it certainly makes you GULP.
