Mercedes-AMG SLS gets punished in gruelling tests

REGULAR visitors to Wheelsmag.com.au will be accustomed to seeing spy shots of camo-covered cars being tested.

What those images don’t reveal, though – along with many of the intricate details of the cars they camoflauge – is the intensity of the new car testing regime.

Until now, that is. A 16-minute collection of B-Roll footage of the Mercedes-AMG SLS takes you from the very first sketches, all the way through prototype development, and finally onto high-speed testing in pre-production models.

This was AMG’s very first bespoke production model, so clearly it was intent on making sure the gullwinged sports car was done properly. The footage reveals the anmount of time AMG engineers spent crash-testing the car, even going as far to drop it on its head to test the systems developed to allow occupants to escape the car following a rollover (gullwing doors would traditionally make this rather difficult).

In the film, you also get to see the SLS’s monster 6.2-litre V8 being put through its paces on the dyno bench, and the car’s suspension being absolutley punished on a simulation rig.

All of this is just building towards the pre-production models, which are put through various hot and cold weather testing, as well as some high-speed track time.

The heavily camoflauged SLS is taken to Pikes Peak in Colorado for hot-weather testing. It is interesting to note the famous hillclimb is still partially dirt in the footage – it has since been sealed top to bottom.

The footage also provides rare insight into what happens inside the heavily camoflauged cars, with in-car footage of engineers monitoring data as they drive.

Finally, we are treated to some wild slides on snow and ice as part of the mandatory cold weather testing.

So next time you slide behind the wheel of a new car, just think about the extensive testing that happens, sometimes for years, before you’re handed the keys.