On this episode of Ignition
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:13 This week on Ignition, the grandest grand tour of them
00:18 all.
00:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:29 Welcome to the stunning, powerful, and massive
00:34 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
00:37 This is a beautiful looking car, inside and out,
00:40 from its aluminum chassis to its 6.3 liter V8, which,
00:45 by the way, develops 563 horsepower, 479 pound feet
00:49 of torque, but most importantly, one of the greatest V8 engine
00:53 sounds in the world.
00:55 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:58 But there's a problem.
01:00 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:12 It's the doors.
01:15 So it's a good thing that the folks at Mercedes
01:17 made a roadster version of the SLS,
01:19 because it means they had to install normal doors.
01:23 And it's much, much better because of it.
01:26 For one, you don't have to worry about knocking yourself out
01:28 every time you step out of the car.
01:30 Two, you get to enjoy the aspects of grand touring cars
01:34 way more.
01:35 And that's what this car is.
01:36 It's a grand touring car.
01:38 It's focused as much on fun as it is on luxury and comfort.
01:43 And with the roof down, you get to hear that exhaust note.
01:46 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:50 You've probably heard of the Big Bang in school.
01:52 Well, that's what this exhaust sounds like,
01:54 the beginnings of time.
01:57 [ENGINE REVVING]
02:01 The power, the charisma, the character of this thing
02:05 makes me think.
02:06 Let's go over the traits of your stereotypical American sports
02:10 car.
02:11 It has a massive engine that sits
02:13 underneath a long, long nose.
02:17 It's very fast, tons of power, lots of grip, too,
02:22 but not a lot of finesse.
02:24 Hmm.
02:24 [ENGINE REVVING]
02:30 It's still a wonderful thing to drive,
02:33 but this thing makes me feel like Mercedes
02:37 got the idea of what a Dodge Viper might be
02:39 and then tried to make one of their own.
02:41 [ENGINE REVVING]
02:45 I'm listening to the engine in this thing,
02:48 feeling the way it drives, and I have to wonder if AMG stands
02:52 for the Alabama Motoring Group.
02:54 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:04 This may very well be the most American sports car
03:07 in the world.
03:08 I mean, consider how fast it is in a straight line.
03:11 We're going to do an acceleration run.
03:13 We have launch control, and to use it,
03:15 you hit the traction control button once to get
03:17 in sport handling mode, then twist this dial here
03:20 until RS is illuminated.
03:21 That's race start.
03:22 Confirm it by hitting up shift with the paddle.
03:25 We don't actually want launch control.
03:27 Launch control is fast, but it gives you too much wheel spin.
03:30 In our testing, it actually slowed the car down.
03:33 The best way to launch this, we found,
03:34 is to just mat the throttle and hold on, like this.
03:37 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:40 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:43 Now, that gives you a 0 to 60 run in 3.6 seconds.
03:48 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:50 And a quarter mile run in 11.8 seconds at 121 miles an hour.
03:55 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:57 That's almost the exact same speed as the SLS Coupe,
04:01 and this thing's 100 pounds heavier.
04:05 Pretty good at stopping, too.
04:06 Our best stop from 60--
04:07 [TIRES SQUEALING]
04:11 --takes just 100 feet.
04:12 [TIRES SQUEALING]
04:17 If you look closely, you'll see little pieces
04:20 of America leaking out of the seams.
04:21 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:23 [ENGINE REVVING]
04:26 [TIRES SQUEALING]
04:30 It's still fresh.
04:37 And if we pop the hood, there's pie.
04:41 [ENGINE REVVING]
04:44 Apple.
04:48 [ENGINE REVVING]
04:52 And now for our figure eight handling course.
04:57 And when you drive the SLS on the limit,
05:00 you really realize it wasn't intended for this.
05:04 Big sideways movements, tons of power, lots of grip,
05:08 but not a lot of communication.
05:10 The steering is rather ropey.
05:14 The throttle is super sensitive.
05:16 And super sensitive throttle is not
05:17 what you want when you're using it to deliver nearly 500
05:20 pound-feet of torque.
05:22 It's a car you got to work really hard in order
05:28 to get a decent time out of it.
05:30 [TIRES SQUEALING]
05:32 You have to anticipate everything well in advance
05:38 in order to get out of a corner really fast.
05:40 [TIRES SQUEALING]
05:43 It's on the edge the whole time.
05:47 [TIRES SQUEALING]
05:49 But you know, when it comes to killing its rear tires,
05:52 it does it better than most muscle cars.
05:54 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:16 This, then, is what the Duke boys would drive,
06:18 had they gone on to become rich and successful executives.
06:21 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:24 You know, we may crack all kinds of jokes
06:28 about this being the most American sports car
06:31 in the world.
06:32 And the powertrain feels like it,
06:34 although the rest of the car still
06:36 has cues that make it feel like a proper Mercedes-Benz.
06:40 There's still a bit of elegance hiding
06:43 behind all that brutality.
06:45 And that's what makes it so exciting.
06:47 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:49 Inside, it still has the cues of the classic Mercedes-Benz.
06:53 This tiny windshield and extremely long hood
06:57 makes it feel like an old Mercedes-Benz roadster.
07:00 [ENGINE REVVING]
07:02 You get the sense that they've paid careful attention trying
07:06 to mimic those features.
07:08 [ENGINE REVVING]
07:14 This may be the best muscle car Stuttgart's ever created.
07:18 [ENGINE REVVING]
07:21 The SLS is so impressive because it's so brash,
07:32 because it's so against the grain of environmentally
07:35 conscious supercars.
07:37 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:40 [BELL RINGING]
07:44 [BELL RINGING]
07:47 [BELL RINGING]
07:49 It's loud.
07:50 It's striking.
07:52 It's wholly unapologetic.
07:53 [BELL RINGING]
07:56 And it's wonderful.
07:57 [ENGINE REVVING]
08:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:04 [BELL RINGING]
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08:17 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:21 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:25 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:32 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:36 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:40 (upbeat music)
08:42 you