2022 Mercedes-AMG SL set to replace GT Roadster

Mercedes-AMG CEO Philipp Schiemer has confirmed the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz will ditch the GT Roadster in favour of the upcoming SL Roadster.

The boss claims the new SL will be a more balanced car than the one it will replace, providing greater bandwidth for owners.

However, Schiemer was also keen to point out that although he and his team planned on making the SL more rounded than the GT, the SL moniker is still one steeped in motorsport.

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The new roadster will be a fully in-house AMG product, like the GT, and thanks to a leak last year first published on Mercedes-Fans.de, we know there will be more than a few different models in the range.

According to the leak, there will be six different variants from launch:

SL 43

SL 53 4MATIC+

SL 53 E 4MATIC+

SL 55 S 4MATIC+

SL 63 4MATIC+

SL 73 E 4MATIC+

As evidenced by the leak, most of the new SL line-up will feature Mercedes’s 4MATIC all-wheel drive system.

The SL will most likely share the same chassis architecture as the next GT, which could be unveiled in the first half of 2022.

Schiemer also confirmed, as reported by Car and Driver, that the new SL would be available with 48-volt and plug-in hybrid powertrains, which would support the ‘E’ lettering on some of the model designations.

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The electrification is rumoured to be mated to Mercedes’s turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine and AMG’s prolific M176 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.

The latter of the two engines is also thought to power the SL’s range-topping variant, which will reprise the SL 73 name, albeit with an ‘E’ and ‘4MATIC+’ suffix.

There have been reports that the 73 will have in the region of 600kW of power, thanks to the mighty blown bent-eight under the bonnet, working in conjunction with a rear-mounted 150kW electric motor.

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Not much else is known about the new SL at this point, however, Mercedes-AMG is expected to globally unveil the soft-top before the end of 2021.