Hot News: Mercedes to Debut SLS AMG Black Series at LA Show 2012

Last week we had the unique opportunity to get an up-close tour of Mercedes-AMG’s world headquarters in the small German town of Affalterbach. Beyond drooling over the immaculate facilities that included a showroom, race car assembly line, engine production area, and an AMG Performance Studio (the brand’s personalization program), we spoke to a few key engineers and marketing personnel.

The soon-to-be-released SLS AMG Black Series will debut at this November’s Los Angeles Auto Show.
In true Black Series fashion, expect the all-new Black Series to sport a lower ride height, additional aerodynamic cues like race car-inspired wheel arches and a fixed rear wing, bigger wheels and wider tires, ceramic brakes, and, yes, more power. Current rumors have the hand-built 6.2-liter V-8 making somewhere in the 630-horsepower range, which nearly matches the output of the recently debuted 45^th Anniversary SLS AMG GT3 race car.

According to Dr. Martin Hart, chief powertrain engineer, when comparing the SLS Black Series to the current SLS AMG GT, the Black Series is “the REAL beast” (he said with a massive grin) with even quicker shifts from the updated seven-speed automatic gearbox, a more dynamic chassis, and superb braking. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but given the performance enhancements and a likely very limited production run, don’t expect it to be cheap.

Thanks to: Motor Trend