SLs, typically, are styled with longevity in mind; few other cars retain their elegance over time as well as an SL. That’s probably true of the current range, although the SL63 may not prove quite so aesthetically enduring.
That’s not because of its basic shape (although the new-found aggression of Mercedes’ nose job does not entirely sit easily on the moderately curved body), but rather the AMG-specific details, which echo the look of this year’s F1 pace car. The carbonfibre wing mirrors and rear spoiler, not to mention a standard rear diffuser that does precisely nothing to reduce aerodynamic lift, somehow sit rather uneasily on what is, after all, a two-tonne luxury coupé/roadster.
Beneath that new nose you’ll find a 6208cc V8 engine – a technically brilliant unit, if not instantly as endearing as its supercharged forebear – which produces its 518bhp at 6800rpm and its 465lb ft of torque at 5200. It revs to 7200rpm.
It drives through a new transmission. The seven-speed AMG Speedshift MCT gearbox is largely a conventional automatic unit, but uses a wet clutch rather than a torque converter for improved response. In the cabin there’s a knob for choosing between four different drive modes – from Comfort, which acts as smoothly as possible, through Sport and Sport+ to Manual, with increasingly faster shifts each time.
The suspension consists of double wishbones at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear. The SL63 has revised Active Body Control (ABC), a hydraulically controlled damping system that adjusts the pressure of fluid around a spring unit to minimise body movements. Its settings are further uprated if you add the £8230 Performance Package, which also brings a limited-slip diff, larger front brake discs and a different steering wheel.
Our test car was also fitted with a £2230 Driver’s Package, which includes a driver training course and raises the speed limiter from 155mph to 186mph.