When the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG came out in 2010, it was described by Jeremy Clarkson on old Top Gear as being “the greatest car in the world,” even though it was a bit of a handful through the corners, where the German two-door liked to put its tail out consistently and repeatedly.
However, fast forward to 2013 when the Teutonic brand released the SLS AMG Black Series, and the same Jeremy Clarkson described the then-new track weapon as being “a serious car” and saying: “I bet it doesn’t know a single joke.”
And it’s easy to see why he used those words, with a naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V8 under the hood sending 622 horsepower and 468 pound-feet (635 Newton-meters) of torque to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch sports transmission that’s mounted 0.39 in (10 mm) lower than in the regular SLS AMG to achieve a lower center of gravity.
Carbon fiber is used throughout the car, from the body panels to the mechanical components and space frame, leading to a curb weight of 3,415 pounds (1,549 kilograms), which is 154 lb (70 kg) lighter than the standard model. The titanium exhaust and lithium-ion starter battery also contributed to the weight-saving diet.
The specs say that the 0 to 62 miles per hour (0-100 kilometers per hour) sprint takes just 3.6 seconds and that the top speed is 196 mph (315 kph), but as my mother told me when I was a young boy, I won’t believe it until I see it, which is why there’s a lovely video embedded at the top of this page, where a pristine-looking Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series gets put through its paces on the famous no-limit German Autobahn by the good people at AutoTopNL.
It’s music to any car enthusiast’s ears, I promise, so go ahead and click play, and then scroll down to the comments section to let us know what you think.
