The SLS AMG, as if we need to remind you, is fast and quite sporty. The SLS AMG GT? Besides an alphabetical mouthful, you can consider it an SLS on uppers. It’s also the latest fruit of a variant-focused product strategy for the AMG supercar that saw the standard car joined shortly after launch by a roadster. This new GT version, which supplants the non-GT here but augments it in Europe, is an attempt to make both SLS coupe and convertible more track ready, more hard core. (If it’s not brutal enough, allow us to point you to the SLS AMG GT3.)
Our now-departed regular-grade SLS had 563 hp from its high-revving, naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8, enough to get the car to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds in our testing. The GT gets 20 more hp for a total of 583. (Torque stands pat at 479 lb-ft.) Only those who notice the matte-black-trimmed wheels and subtle GT lettering appended to the decklid logo will know you’re packing that little bit of extra ammo.
Unfortunately, this burly, wonderful 6.2-liter engine is on its last legs, with the SLS and C63 being its only remaining standard bearers. All other 63 AMG cars—the misnomer is a homage to AMG’s racing engine of the 1960s and ’70s—have switched to a smaller-displacement, forced-induction 5.5-liter V-8 as a nod to fuel efficiency and emissions regulations. That’s a shame, because the 6.2’s wide power band, immediate throttle response, and instant surge of power and torque are among the most impressive we’ve ever experienced. And the sound—oh, the sound! (Hear it here. Now.) Let’s pour one out for this great engine, shall we?
But back to the SLS GT. The extra grunt ought to shave a 10th off the sprint to 60, which is significant only for barroom arguments; the previous car felt stupid quick from the driver’s perch, and this one does, too. Top speed remains a lofty 197 mph, another beer-soaked statistic relevant only to a select few owners, given the speed limits in most SLS markets.
One place where terminal velocity might actually be explored is of course the SLS’s home turf in Germany, where we drove the GT at the Hockenheim track. There, we found that the only substantive differences in overall character come courtesy of the transmission and suspension. As for the latter, the previous setup has been slightly stiffened by the adoption of AMG’s Adaptive Performance Suspension, and the car feels a bit tauter in each of the two settings. The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox has been revised, too. In its Normal mode, it changes gears as smoothly as any of Mercedes’ torque-converter units. But select Sport or—even better—Sport Plus mode, and the gearchanges are lightning quick and the programming so in tune with driver needs that the manual mode is superfluous. (But we hope Mercedes never, ever removes manual control. We love holding gears to create glorious burbles and pops on demand.) The SLS GT will automatically execute multiple downshifts when entering a corner, and it also blips the throttle on each one to prevent uncouth driveline behavior—and create righteous noises.
