After being on the market for 6 years, the current generation R230 SL-Class is set for its midlife major facelift. Here now are photos showing the next SL without any disguise, just a few pieces of black tape were removed from the car by computer. Besides a revamped interior design, the most dramatic change will be the CLS-Class style headlamps together with a new front bumper fascia in addition to a new front grille with a single bar moulding/emblem. On the rear, new LED tailamps and a restyled rear bumper fascia. Engines are likely to remain the same, but rumours are talking about a turbocharged version of the 350 engine with 354 bhp. Top of the SL range will be the well known biturbo V12 SL 65 AMG with 612 bhp. The 2009 SL-Class with its debut expected for this March at the Geneva Motor Show will have its market launch towards the end of 2008. The next generation SL-Class is expected to hit in 2012.
Mercedes SL Facelift Uncovered via Photoshop
Copyright by Lehmann Photo-Syndication / Mercedes SL Facelift Uncovered via Photoshop
By Brian Potter
November 26, 2007 11:54 PM
Filed Under: German, Mercedes-Benz, Spy Photos
Comments
carcrazy1234
November 27, 2007 12:56 AM
is mercedes still owned by chrysler??? cuz the fron thead lights on this "thing" looks soo much like the ugly ass sebring... i may be misaken but this just looks cheap (front head light wise, and just the front in general)
Harajoshi
November 27, 2007 1:09 AM
amateur-photoshop... delete it! And Mercedes owned Chrysler, now the other way around
carcrazy1234
November 27, 2007 6:47 AM
man... chrysler owned most of benz lol... i`m 99.9% sure of it :P lol and now... mercedes is back on their own... like they should be!! :) the sl we have no is far nicer than this i must say.. hopefully they wont make this
Bristol411S3
November 27, 2007 1:39 AM
Yep, looks like a bodge. The side vents are a welcome addition, but the introduction of style themes from the cheaper cars unsurprisingly cheapens the overall style. Still, not many cars at this price or pace will be so drivable every day or offer the benefits of a CC configuration.
pc
November 27, 2007 2:26 AM
I don't like anything about it at all. Both the front and the rear look awkward and unfinished. I love the car's current look much more.
F599GTB
November 27, 2007 3:11 AM
I hope whoever photoshopped this didn't know too much about mercedes benzes. The side vents look like they would be found on some cheap performance car wannabe, and the rear skid plate with the exhaust pipes defy mercedes' reputation in elegance. the headlights and the grille look oversized as well. I hope the actual will look more polished and Mercedes-like than this.
foose1397
November 27, 2007 5:10 AM
This is the second bad rendering i have seen WCF put up in a short period of time. Please stop showing this because this crap ends up circling the web. As an industrial designer, i am curious who does this work. I am gonna go with a good copy and paster with no car knowledge
shehk
November 27, 2007 7:07 AM
YIKES, that looks ugly!!! Chyrsler's affected MB in the long run. It looks like a Chrysler front was slammed on it. No thanks MB!!!
amg55
November 27, 2007 9:51 AM
WHEN THE HELL WERE MERCEDES-BENZ OWNED BY CHRYSLER???? Mercedes-Benz owned them you crazy person. What world do you live in???? UNKNOWN??
amg55
November 27, 2007 9:53 AM
iT LOOKS SO WICKED, YOU KNOW, ONLY QUALITY PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE DESIGN. ALSO, CHRYSLER ARE FINISHED WITH MERCEDES-BENZ, THEY HAVE GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM. YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS ONLY IF YOU LIVE IN THE RIGHT WORLD.
amg55
November 27, 2007 9:55 AM
I STILL CAN'T BELEIVE YOU THINK CHRYSLER OWN MERCEDES-BENZ, OMG, YOU GUYS ARE MENTAL - U SHOULD BE SAYING THIS TO BLUDDY AUDI WHO ARE OWNED BY VW 99.7%, SALA BAATH KARTA HAI.
puddingpuppet
November 27, 2007 11:35 AM
You mean German Fantasy Land by the right world don't you? And lay off the caps lock, makes you look like a 13 year old emo kid.
BentleyBoy
November 27, 2007 12:41 PM
Why being so aggressive amg55? We are ust talking about cars, even if someone has said something wrong about your favourite brand, this is not a reason to argue. I myself have a Mercedes E-Class but I wouldn't be as aggressive as you are if somebody tells me this brand is a bad one, even less if he thinks something stupid like it was said in those comments!
shifty
November 27, 2007 1:28 PM
The point is "chrysler owned most of benz lol... i`m 99.9% sure of it" is just wrong. I already posted this in another thread... I even think Benz nearly got sued for faking a merger, whereas they just bought chrysler^^ however thats still no reason to write such msgs in caps :D
Harajoshi
November 27, 2007 1:35 PM
What people are that writing here? "Chrysler owned Mercedes", are you two years old or something like that? Mercedes-Benz owned Chrysler and sold 'em like they owned Mitsubishi and sold 'em!
Bullet93
November 27, 2007 1:56 PM
amg55, you are out of your mind, mercedes do not look nice, they never will, bmwaddict, get back to the bmw!!!!
shifty
November 27, 2007 2:06 PM
no prob. "Mercedes-Benz owned Chrysler and sold 'em like they owned Mitsubishi and sold 'em!" and lost a lot of money in both cases you could ad :(
elsonlau
November 27, 2007 2:41 PM
I still think BMW 6 Series is more handsome than this car. Whats the point on facelift? They have money to produce a new models.
huhnspinne
November 27, 2007 5:09 PM
oh my god. you have got to be kidding. are you blinded by fanboy-ism or what? What about that massive ugly arse bootlid? what about that disturbingly down-syndrome afflicted front end? not to mention the performance of the car which is nowhere near SL standards (The M6 can barely compete with an SL55 let alone the all-conquering SL65). And yet the 6 series is more handsome? It looks like someones aborted child.
Harajoshi
November 27, 2007 2:52 PM
Bullet, maybe you are a bit stupid, okay - I am tolerant, but you red that this is a photoshop, yes? And maybe you can see how bad done it is, yes? So don't blame Merc for the amateur-photoshops of some losers! Blame wcf for bringing this ****!
shifty
November 27, 2007 4:43 PM
No actually I don't like it... But Harajoshi is right, I think this has nothing to do with Daimlers plans for the facelift!
FOXHOUND
November 27, 2007 5:47 PM
you guys are over analyzing this car looks pretty nice and as for the design elements, there are no longer any ties between MB and Chrysler they cut each other loose some time ago.
carfan519
November 27, 2007 8:54 PM
benz dumped chrysler because they were just losing to much money. One one ons the german companies
carfan519
November 27, 2007 8:54 PM
benz dumped chrysler because they were just losing to much money. One one owns the german companies
coopergt
November 27, 2007 10:20 PM
this is very cheap looking. Maybe MB will fall into Chryslers price category with this one!
wills2007
November 28, 2007 12:12 AM
Even the Renault Megane estate in the background looks nicer lol! The front grille looks too wide for the size, did they photoshop a new C-Class?
carcrazy1234
November 28, 2007 12:44 AM
hahah wowww some people on here are 5 aka mr. CAPS LOCK :P! but yea... i checked up on some other friends of mine and also some forums and some say neither bought neither and that it was simply a merger.. aka sharing parts and what not for example... the chrysler 300 chasis or frame is an E-class chassis and the transmission and other parts on it are mercedes (correct me if i'm wrong) lol
Ferrariguy
November 28, 2007 1:45 AM
From my understandings none of them OWNED each other. It was a merger between MB and Chrysler to take over the market in america and in germany, hint the name "DaimlerChrysler." Both shared a lot of parts like transmissions, electrical, etc...True, they have cut off ties, but not entirely. Audi and VW are different. In that scenario VW owns audi and is the parent company of audi.
Ferrariguy
November 28, 2007 1:47 AM
Almost forgot, the whole point of the merger was that both MB and Chrysler wanted to own the market in the higher/premium range and at the lower/affortable range market.
radmeister
November 28, 2007 3:09 AM
Daimler Benz baught a majority in the Chrysler group not the other way around, otherwise it would have been called ChryslerDaimler not DaimlerChrysler. Think about it how could Chrysler buy Daimler Benz? They had filed for bankrupcy at the time.... If you go back to the time of the "Merger" Daimler Benz shares were 10x that of Chrysler, which means for the price they woulda had to pay to buy 51% of the Daimler group they coulda baught themselves entirely 5x. Doesnt make sense. The Daimler group is one of the oldest if not the oldest car manufacturing company in the world, they make everything from Smart cars to military vehicles and armament. Chrysler can't even make a proper car.
4rings
November 28, 2007 7:37 AM
Try a little research, boys. (and that doesnt include "friends"). It was called a "Merger", but, in actuality, it really wasnt. (Check the lawsuits). The company's headquaters was in Germany. The only M-B parts that a Chrysler could use were parts no longer used in a Mercedes. In other words, previous gen parts. Even the Crossfire (the closest to a Merc) was a first gen SLK realeased when MB put out the second gen. Final word on Chrysler's activities came from Germany, along with the execs sent to Detroit to run the Chrysler arm of the company. Daimler still owns 20% Of Chrysler. Its not classified info.
benzboy
November 28, 2007 11:13 AM
I dont know if this is the plain SL or an AMG ! I hate the rims, but other than that I like the car and would buy an SL63.
unknown
November 28, 2007 10:42 PM
how come wcf's photoshop never looks anything like the real thing? it looks soo mickey mouse.
josh1973
December 3, 2007 11:24 AM
Yes, Chrysler owned Mercedes-Benz... That's why the DaimlerChrysler CEO was the former Mercedes-Benz CEO. That's why 2 of 9 members of the executive board were sent by Chrysler an 7 by Mercedes. That's why DaimlerChrysler-headquarters where placed in Stuttgart. That's why 5 from 6 members of the supervisory board where former Mercedes-Benz people including the supervisory board chairman. That's why Kerkorian sued DaimlerChrysler for $9 Billion because of pretending the purchase of Chrysler by Merces-Benz was untruly called "a merger of equals". That's why the company was called DaimlerChrysler AG. That's why the company was a "Aktiengesellschaft" by german law. That's why Chrysler sold themselves to Cerberus and Daimler still holds 20%. I am quite sure that Chrysler owned Mercedes, the facts speak for themselves!
benzboy
December 4, 2007 12:44 PM
At this point who really cares any more. Mercedes is on its own and my benz wont be sharing with chrysler anymore.
marius
December 23, 2007 7:11 PM
bad look ... the old was more atractive ! if this is final facelift is completely a sheet !!
Add Comment
[cancel]
