2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

There are two things that the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG hasn't been lacking in its short time in existence: more power and more letters in its name. But for 2013, Mercedes gave its AMG supercar more of both courtesy of the 583-horsepower SLS AMG GT, and while we've already covered the Coupe, Electric Drive and the 2014 Black Series versions this year, I recently got to spend the better part of a week driving the droptop Roadster model. I've driven the SLS – both Gullwinged and roofless – numerous times in the past, and I'm happy to report that this car never feels old. Despite losing its signature roof-hinged doors, the SLS Roadster still makes quite an entrance wherever it goes, and doing so with the top down makes driving the car even more enjoyable. Driving Notes While there are plenty of reasons to love the SLS, my personal favorite is the raw power that it delivers. The slight bump in horsepower (583 up from 563) is practically undetectable, but this car sounds like a racecar when you get heavy on the throttle. In Sport+ mode, the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox delivers lightning-fast shifts while the exhaust creates some of the best gurgles and pops you'll probably ever hear on a modern production car. Having driven the SLS on the track in the past, I was very impressed at how calm and collected this car feels in everyday driving. Piloting an SLS always takes a little longer to get used too since there is so much of the car in front of the driver, but it is still a lot easier to drive than most low-slung super cars. Speed bumps and driveways never caused the front chin to scrape although the long nose makes it hard to judge how close you are to parking blocks. On the road, the easiest way to describe this car is "fast as hell." Mercedes claims a 0-60 time of 3.6 seconds, and that was consistently backed up with data displayed in the optional AMG Performance Media telemetry system. Step on the gas and this car will rocket to illegal speeds before your brain has time to resume its natural position within your skull. Even better, the same brakes that can bring this car to a stop at triple-digit speeds felt just fine in normal driving without being overly grabby. Sadly, the flat and mostly straight roads in my area prevented me from pushing the handling of this SLS too far, but in a day where even performance cars are switching to electric power steering, the SLS' wheel felt perfectly weighted (leaning toward the heavy side) to back up its racecar-like feel. Admittedly, I drove the SLS hard as often as possible, but I was impressed that I was still able to drive 220 miles using about three-quarters of a tank of gas... until I checked the specs to see how big the gas tank is. The SLS has 22.5-gallon tank with a 3.7-gallon reserve (totaling …
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