Cue the sound, drop the roof – things are about to get noisy. By Aaron Borrill

THE WEATHER GODS are spiteful beings – let me tell you why. It’s been sunny all week and, in fact, we haven’t had a drop of rain in Cape Town for months now, so you can imagine my disdain when the arrival of the Mercedes-Benz SLS Roadster test car was met with an unseasonal downpour of almost biblical proportions. Thankfully, car testing is carried out over several days so as soon as the cold front loosened its grip on the Peninsula, the SLS’s fabric roof naturally retracted. Open-top sports cars are generally not as brutal as their hardtop siblings. Some even consider them the domain of hairdressers and fashionistas, but after a lengthy spell behind the Alcantara-clad, flat-bottomed wheel of the SLS Roadster, I have to disagree with that perception. This is a proper sports car with a no-frills driving experience.

IMAGE GALLERY

Exterior

What’s not to like? Just look at it – the never-ending bonnet, the bulging arches, the squat, athletic stance and classical short rear overhang all allude to the iconic 1950s 300SL roadster. Like the rest of the AMG range, the SLS can be personalised with a glut of optional, albeit pricey, AMG-labelled extras. One of the many options fitted to our test unit was the R51300 Designo paint package – a matte finish called Magno Allinte Grey. The matte effect accentuates the graceful contours of SLS, at the same time giving it a menacing personality that’s superbly offset by the 10-spoke 19-inch (front)/20-inch (rear) matte-black AMG wheels. Yip, those are genuine carbon fibre wing mirrors (part of the AMG carbon package), too.

The most notable difference between the Roadster and the Coupe is the loss of the gullwing doors – instead, the roadster adopts a conventional door arrangement to accommodate a power-operated triple-layered fabric roof that can open or close in just 11 seconds at speeds up to 50kph. The roof cleverly packs away between the space behind the passenger seats and the boot and, as a result, has done little to affect the boot volume. At 173 litres – just three less than the Coupe – it’s still cavernous enough to stow an overnight bag and laptop satchel.

Interior

The SLS features an interior that has been inspired by aviation. The level of detailing is exquisite – the gear selector, complete with an Affalterbach-embossed crest, resembles an aircraft’s thrust control lever. Various bits of leather, Alcantara and carbon fibre (again, if you opt for the carbon trim package) cocoon the driver. To make things even more confusing, the interior also incorporates an AMG carbon package that includes carbon fibre trim panels on seat backrests and sides and door sill panels. The R32800 Designo red leather seats are comfortable and support the body during enthusiastic cornering manoeuvres. The driving position is good and the ergonomics on par with an S-Class. There’s even a wind scarf to blow warm air on the back of your neck if the need to travel topless on a chilly day is desired – or maybe unavoidable. One drawback, though – visibility is poor with the roof closed but the standard blind spot warning system supplies both audible and visual alerts.

Performance

The SLS Roadster may have had its gullwings clipped but that doesn’t mean it can’t fly – it’s still shunts with the same mind-blowing aggression of the Coupe. As a matter of fact, our test results revealed a startling statistic – it’s quicker than the SLS Coupe we tested last year, which is peculiar given the Roadster’s added weight from the structural chassis reinforcements. Hooked up to our timing equipment, the Roadster managed a 0-100kph time of just 4.17 seconds (0.23 seconds quicker than the Coupe) – and this without Race mode activated. Equally impressive are the in-gear acceleration figures between 60-100kph (2.21 seconds) and 80-120kph (2.4 seconds). The Roadster employs the same naturally-aspirated oversquare 6.2-litre V8 engine as the Coupe, so power and torque output remain unchanged at 420kW and 650Nm respectively. Drop the roof, press the pulsating ‘noise’ button, and the fiery V8 awakens from its hibernation like an enraged grizzly bear. Grrrrrr, it goes – then whup-whup-whup-whup… And that’s just at idling speeds! Things get much louder as the rev needle moves north. At higher revolutions, the SLS is now also making the sort of noise last heard in a wartime Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane. Come off the power and the ensuing burbling, crackling and exhaust flatulence from the overrun will bewitch anyone within a 100 metre radius.

The well-endowed power band is harnessed through the seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission, which has four driving modes that are selectable via an AMG rotary dial: Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus and Manual – the latter two being the most invigorating settings, returning a firecracker-like ‘pop’ on upshifts. It’s also not as thirsty as we expected. On our 80km economy test run, we managed a combined fuel consumption figure of 13.1ℓ/100km, marginally beating the claimed figure of 13.2ℓ/100km.

Handling

The front-mid-engined rear-drive transaxle layout has lowered the car’s centre of gravity and bestowed it with a near-perfect weight distribution (47:53 front/rear). Scuttle shake is also non-existent thanks to the structural reinforcements of the chassis, which together with the rigid lightweight aluminium body make it only 40kg heavier than the Coupe. The hydraulically-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is meaty in feedback and surprisingly responsive given the Roadster’s large front end. Still, even at 1660kg, it manages to scoot around tight corners with the agility of an Honda S2000 or Mazda MX-5. However, don’t get overly trigger happy. The power delivery is dangerously aggressive and loosens the rear end with the most gentlest of throttle prods – particularly in the corners. The rear-biased seating position makes it difficult to see over the enormous bonnet and, subsequently, hinders positional judgement in tight confines and can make parking a nightmare. Let’s not even mention the possibility of scratching the bodywork and exquisite wheels… Other than that, the sports suspension is painfully firm even with the three-level AMG Ride Control system switched to its most comfortable setting, but the upshot is spider-like adhesion.

Verdict

This is no boulevard cruiser; it’s every bit as brutal as the SLS Coupe. But, is it worth the R63000 premium over its winged counterpart? In short, yes. The driving experience is pure, unfiltered and emotive – the epitome of open-top motoring. Like Pandora’s Box, there is no turning back once you open the fabric roof. The apocalyptic soundtrack from the V8 is just too entrancing once experienced in all its unsullied glory.

All this comes at a cost though: R2764200 gets you a base model SLS. Spec it like our test car and the price quickly spikes above R3100000. For substantially less money you can buy the equally impressive Audi R8 Spyder, or alternatively you can fork out a little extra and buy a Ferrari California. Personally, though, I’d stick with the SLS. It’s more exclusive than the R8 and more masculine than the Ferrari – a modern classic if ever there was.