Motor Trend drives Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing in Germany [video]

Video shows Motor Trend journalist driving on Nordschleife track at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing is the first vehicle to be an original AMG. It is not derived from a Mercedes-Benz model nor does AMG share a platform with its parent automaker on the SLS Gullwing, not yet at least. This cat is original.

And here we can have a look at a Motor Trend journalist taking the still well-disguised SLS Gullwing for a trip around the Nordschleife track at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany. The video's bird's-eye view of the cockpit certainly provides a good enough impression of how the Gullwing takes to what really ought to be its natural habitat.

Yes, the trip around the 21 km (13 miles) track takes a while in the video and the participants don't have much to say, although we cannot see the expressions on their faces. But the sounds of the roaring SLS Gullwing are plenty to fill the void.

With scenes like this you get an understanding of what the pitfalls are of owning such a supercar. Supercar-makers like AMG offer these powerful machines as road cars, but they are, in fact, too powerful for any owner to fully appreciate their performance on public roads. This is the way to experience the car - taking it onto a race track. And those owners have to pay extra for that privilege too.

 

Source: motortrend.com

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 man1 man1
From the start at about 00:30 sec in the video to when we hear that beep, i would say about 7:50 - 7:55 minutes. This is extremely impressive. Subtract the over-weight passenger & have the driver go into timeattack mode, i think we are looking at a challenger to the GTR and the GT3 here!!!
July 17, 2009 1:21 pm
 9TNine 9TNine
Those 4 round air vents... they should have THREE vanes instead of four so they look like the Mercedes star emblem (as on the steering wheel)...?? Yes...??
July 17, 2009 1:31 pm
 khd khd
that would look way too tacky like some kind of boy racer car, the one on the steering wheel is enough, dont mean to 'nit-pick' but this is not the complete lap he misses the last 2 corners...
July 17, 2009 5:30 pm
 bone91 bone91
I love those air vent design. These vents have been used before on those early 80s merc cars and as far as i know, no one really copied it. a true original merc design!
July 18, 2009 12:02 am
 Iconic Iconic
No.
July 18, 2009 3:28 am
 9TNine 9TNine
"MotorTrend journalist" = American...? Nahhh, just put a European behind the wheel and that should save at least a minute - easily!!
July 17, 2009 1:33 pm
 scratchy996 scratchy996
the driver is Bernd Schneider , DTM driver.
July 17, 2009 1:54 pm
 McNamara68 McNamara68
how do you know its Schneider?
July 18, 2009 11:47 pm
 scratchy996 scratchy996
http://www.fastestcar.com/video-mercedes-benz-sls-amg-gullwing-laps-nurburgring/
July 19, 2009 9:13 am
 Andres2007 Andres2007
9TNine, next time inform yourself and you won't embarass yourself :) :p
July 20, 2009 6:48 pm
 9TNine 9TNine
I like Americans really... but they just cannot drive
July 21, 2009 3:08 pm
 bman49 bman49
9TNine you are so right. I mean for example,Ken Block, he's such a crappy driver! I don't know why he's so popular. /sarcasm
July 22, 2009 3:31 am
 9TNine 9TNine
Ken who..?? ...never heard of him! I'll hear about him when he wins something Rally championship / formula one...
July 22, 2009 8:35 am
 MAB MAB
Superb driver and a great soundtrack from that exhaust. Its like Ronin 2. Fun video.
July 17, 2009 4:35 pm
 alessandro alessandro
Looks like a good old school Merc inside and it is fast! First German car I want. No second, first was same from my childhood
July 17, 2009 5:00 pm
 DeeKay DeeKay
My god this looks good... Looking forward for the Top Gear review ;-)
July 17, 2009 5:02 pm
 Andres2007 Andres2007
Top Gear is, admittedly, a reasonably entertaining program. But as a source of information it is an absolute joke. Motor Trend may not be as cool, but their journalism is professional. So if you're looking for a show, yeah, Top Gear, but if you want a real review, look elsewhere :)
July 20, 2009 6:51 pm
 McNamara68 McNamara68
Car and Driver is the worst. MT is alright. Car Magazine is the best, excellent objective reviews.
July 22, 2009 1:15 am
 man1 man1
At around 8:00 you see the car hitting around 250km/h but you dont see it accelerate furthur even though he has enough tarmac. This clearly shows he is holding back!
July 17, 2009 5:07 pm
 benzboy benzboy
this car is hot
July 17, 2009 6:29 pm
 McNamara68 McNamara68
this car is going to be epic. it will be a game changer in the evolution of the hypercar just like the original 300SL was.
July 17, 2009 8:11 pm
 CarLife CarLife
Why the hell did the passenger wear gloves for?
July 17, 2009 11:42 pm
 HommeStar HommeStar
In case of a fire....
July 18, 2009 2:08 am
 Iconic Iconic
Hmm... A mercedes that handles well. Interesting. Nice car, but no game changer. The next Pagani will be the game changer.
July 18, 2009 3:46 am
 McNamara68 McNamara68
all electric, zero emissions, 4 seconds flat to 60. that's a game changer.
July 18, 2009 8:50 pm
 Iconic Iconic
Ever heard of Tesla? In any case we aren't discussing the electric version here. The Only thing special this car has going for it are its gullwing doors. The interior is extremely watered down and whats worse is that they used the old Mercedes parts bin for the climate controls (old E class). That's pretty lame when you're selling the car for that kind of money.
July 19, 2009 5:11 pm
 McNamara68 McNamara68
yes, i've heard of the tesla. tesla's are great in a straight line but can't handle. from the news we've gotten so far on the SLS eDrive, it will be able to corner with the best of them because the four electric motors won't throw off the weight distribution while giving the traction of 4 wheel drive. So yeah, an all-electric with zero emissions and the soul of a sports car is a game changer.
July 20, 2009 8:57 pm
 fujiturbo fujiturbo
Does it really come with those SEATS?
July 18, 2009 9:13 am
 jarbitrage jarbitrage
Quality video, the gullwing seems to handle quite smoothly (especially in the hands of B.Schneider...) Oh well, the sound level ought to be higher, louder!
July 18, 2009 9:31 am
 popilirol popilirol
Not bad... but over-rated.
July 18, 2009 7:45 pm
 Sata Sata
Why? Because is better than any BMX! FACT! Ha-ha-ha-ha BMX jealous losers......
July 19, 2009 6:33 pm
 Iconic Iconic
Sata, Dude I hope this is better than a bicycle. Don't hate because you don't know how to use iDrive.
July 20, 2009 12:58 pm
 Sata Sata
No1 You are wrong, i just don't like garbage........... Crappy car with crapy iDrive typical for BMX loser factory ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
July 20, 2009 4:32 pm
 McNamara68 McNamara68
hey Iconic, only one hating here is you and your fellow BMW fan boys. we get it, whenever merc or audi produce a car, you all come on and post the same trite comments about how it's boring or how unimpressed you are. if you don't like it, don't dignify it with a comment. you don't see me posting this drivel on BMW articles though i can't stand how they produce a new line of minivans every ten days.
July 20, 2009 11:47 pm
 matashi matashi
These vents have been used before on those early 80s merc cars and as far as i know, no one really copied it. a true original merc design!
July 19, 2009 1:19 am
 benzboy benzboy
So is the writer of this article saying we should not buy this car because its to powerful for use on the public streets,any car that can go over 65 mph is to powerful for public street but hey we have them. or am missing the point?
July 19, 2009 8:59 am