Half a century has gone by and Mercedes-AMG

   
       Half a century has gone by and AMG, the performance arm of German luxury icon Mercedes-Benz, have continued to deliver some enthralling cars. Our fourth part of the feature takes a look at the beautiful SLS: a re-imagination of the glorious 300 SL, the AMG 45 line of four-cylinder powerhouses and Mercedes-AMG’s return to Formula 1.

      Some call it brutal. Some call it sharp. Others call it wild. Yet, some even called it cute. Behind that smiling face, under that long bonnet, and inside those gullwing doors was a monster waiting to be unleashed. 

      The M156 V8, the 6,208-cc naturally-aspirated brute of a baritone motor, made headlines in the AMG ‘63’ line-up with between 457 and 525 PS. The M159, on the other hand, was dry-sumped and turned up to 571 PS in the SLS; the first car indigenously developed by AMG. With a weight of just 1,620 kg, it turned out to be a raw and engaging sports coupé with as much presence as it had performance. Built as a 2010 model, its styling harked back to the 1954 300 SL, a car which

revolutionized the sports car category with its ahead-of-time engineering and detail, including its famous gullwing-style doors. So confident were Mercedes with this car and its performance, in terms of both acceleration and downforce, that they successfully managed a corkscrew maneuver inside a tunnel, with the SLS successfully driving upside-down for a brief moment!