2022 Mercedes-Benz SL Beauty's Skin Deep

by Jason R. Sakurai

Published: May 19th, 2021

2022 mercedes benz sl beauty s skin deep

The 2022 Mercedes-Benz SL is a timed release. Its dramatic entrance will come before the end of 2021. Before its arrival, will you tire of it, or be that much more enthralled?

Previously, we saw SL prototypes drifting in the snow, showing off their all-wheel drive (AWD) capabilities. Now the automaker wants you to see beneath the surface, reinforcing the rigidity of its composite aluminum structure.

If you owned an original SL, it had a space frame with the lowest weight and highest torsional rigidity.

The 2022 SL combines a lightweight composite aluminum chassis and a self-supporting structure. Neither any preceding SL nor the AMG GT roadster provided any part to the new 2022.

“The body shell design team was faced with the overall development of the new SL, starting from scratch, without any existing structure,” said Jochen Hermann, Chief Technical Officer of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

“We reconciled the high package demands, while achieving excellent rigidity with a favorable weight, providing agile driving dynamics and exceptional comfort,” Hermann said.

The requirements for the new roadster were more comprehensive scope than its predecessor. The 2+2 layout with 2+2 seats and a number of drive systems created complex challenges. The driving performance characteristics of the brand, plus comfort and safety were all taken into account.

The space frame, the basis of the SL’s success 70 years ago, was very light with high torsional rigidity. However, regular doors were not possible due to their entrance height, which resulted in the original’s gullwing doors.

Today’s frame construction design can cope with tensile and compressive stress. Closed triangles transfer stress to a tubular pyramid at the engine compartment’s end.

Aluminum, steel, magnesium, and fiber composite intelligent material composition ensures the highest possible rigidity in conjunction with low weight in the new SL.

The magnesium instrument panel support, along with the carbon fiber front module cover bridge demonstrates the effort to achieve the best possible diverse material use.

SL production will take place at the Bremen plant where its predecessor was built.

[Images: Mercedes-Benz]

#2+2 #2022Mercedes-BenzSL #Engineering #German #M-BSL #NewCars #Technology

Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

More by Jason R. Sakurai

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 5 comments

GregLocock on May 20, 2021

"If you owned an original SL, it had a space frame with the lowest weight and highest torsional rigidity." Could somebody translate that into meaningful English?

Like Reply
JaySeis on May 20, 2021

—

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Jeff JMII--If I did not get my Maverick my next choice was a Santa Cruz. They are different but then they are both compact pickups the only real compact pickups on the market. I am glad to hear that the Santa Cruz will have knobs and buttons on it for 2025 it would be good if they offered a hybrid as well. When I looked at both trucks it was less about brand loyalty and more about price, size, and features. I have owned 2 gm made trucks in the past and liked both but gm does not make a true compact truck and neither does Ram, Toyota, or Nissan. The Maverick was the only Ford product that I wanted. If I wanted a larger truck I would have kept either my 99 S-10 extended cab with a 2.2 I-4 5 speed or my 08 Isuzu I-370 4 x 4 with the 3.7 I-5, tow package, heated leather seats, and other niceties and it road like a luxury vehicle. I believe the demand is there for other manufacturers to make compact pickups. The proposed hybrid Toyota Stout would be a great truck. Subaru has experience making small trucks and they could make a very competitive compact truck and Subaru has a great all wheel drive system. Chevy has a great compact pickup offered in South America called the Montana which gm could be made in North America and offered in the US and Canada. Ram has a great little compact truck offered in South America as well.
Groza George I don’t care about GM’s anything. They have not had anything of interest or of reasonable quality in a generation and now solely stay on business to provide UAW retirement while they slowly move production to Mexico.
Arthur Dailey We have a lease coming due in October and no intention of buying the vehicle when the lease is up.Trying to decide on a replacement vehicle our preferences are the Maverick, Subaru Forester and Mazda CX-5 or CX-30.Unfortunately both the Maverick and Subaru are thin on the ground. Would prefer a Maverick with the hybrid, but the wife has 2 'must haves' those being heated seats and blind spot monitoring. That requires a factory order on the Maverick bringing Canadian price in the mid $40k range, and a delivery time of TBD. For the Subaru it looks like we would have to go up 2 trim levels to get those and that also puts it into the mid $40k range.Therefore are contemplating take another 2 or 3 year lease. Hoping that vehicle supply and prices stabilize and purchasing a hybrid or electric when that lease expires. By then we will both be retired, so that vehicle could be a 'forever car'. And an increased 'carbon tax' just kicked in this week in most of Canada. Prices are currently $1.72 per litre. Which according to my rough calculations is approximately $5.00 per gallon in US currency.Any recommendations would be welcomed.
Eric Wait! They're moving? Mexico??!!
GrumpyOldMan All modern road vehicles have tachometers in RPM X 1000. I've often wondered if that is a nanny-state regulation to prevent drivers from confusing it with the speedometer. If so, the Ford retro gauges would appear to be illegal.