Rumored Mercedes-Benz "Baby SLS" to be called SSK AMG, get its gullwings clipped?

Out here in the eastern part of Los Angeles, there exists an infamous Mercedes-Benz 190SL. Why infamous? Because its rotting corpse is chained to a rock in a semi-sketchy part of town. No really. It's been there for at least a decade, and if you try and take pictures of it (guilty!) a large angry woman comes hauling out of her front door screaming and cursing at you. This might be a little too James Ellroy-ish to some of you (as if there is such a thing!), but we mention the mostly dead 190SL because in the owners mind, it's every bit as awesome a full bore, hardcore 300SL. Even though it's clearly not. For one thing, the 190SL lacks gullwings.

Speaking of gullwings, who here doesn't love the new SLS AMG? On second thought, keep it to yourself if you're a hater. But if the new AMG-built SLS has one flaw, it's the price. €177,310 to be exact, which would be $265,500 is U.S. dollars. Only the Euro price has little to nothing to do with the U.S. price. Still, even if it's only around $200,000 in the States, that's still a lot of scratch. Well, looks like the folks at Daimler might possibly have a solution.

Australia's Drive is reporting that the previously rumored baby SLS will likely be called SSK AMG, and it is said to be coming in 2014. Should it see the light of day, Drive says that the SSK AMG will roll on a shortened version of the SLS's chassis. It will come as both a coupe and a convertible, but will lose the SLS' trick gullwing doors. Power should come from some sort of forced-induction V8 that should be good for about 500 horsepower. The engine will not be – and will be smaller than – the 6.2-liter, 563-horsepower slugger found in the SLS. Figure the little SSK car should cost close to half what the larger car does. All the better to do battle with the Porsche 911 – even without the gullwings.

Photos by Chris Paukert / Copyright ©2009 Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Drive.com.au]