While Mercedes-Benz has announced plans to go EV-only where markets allow by 2030, with a growing lineup of electrical vehicles already on sale, it isn’t giving up on internal combustion engines just yet – especially relating to the AMG performance division, which is using electrification to extract massive power from gas motors. The newest model to get the AMG E Performance plug-in hybrid treatment is the SL roadster, making history as each the primary PHEV droptop from Mercedes and essentially the most powerful SL of all time.
The powertrain setup in the brand new 2024 Mercedes-AMG SL63 S E Performance is incredibly just like the one within the GT 4-Door Coupe. AMG’s tried-and-true twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 is paired with a 6.1-kWh battery pack and an electrical motor mounted directly on the rear axle. The battery pack can also be positioned just above the rear axle for optimum weight distribution. The electrical motor by itself makes 201 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque and is integrated right into a two-speed transmission and limited-slip rear differential; the engine itself uses the identical 9-speed automatic because the regular SL.
Total output is a whopping 805 hp and 1,047 lb-ft of torque, a rise of 228 hp and 457 lb-ft over the nonhybrid SL63. (The engine by itself is 26 hp and 37 lb-ft up from the regular SL63, too.) Mercedes says the SL63 S E Performance will hit 2.8 seconds, 0.7 seconds quicker than the gas-only SL63. That also makes it a smidge quicker than the GT63 S E Performance 4-Door Coupe, which has 831 hp and 1,084 lb-ft and hits 60 in 2.9 seconds.
Integrating the electrical motor into the rear axle allows for a more direct performance boost, and it will probably also power the front axle due to the variable 4Matic all-wheel-drive system’s driveshaft and mechanical connection. Mercedes says the high-density battery uses Formula 1–inspired technology and has been designed for fast responses and repeated use, so maximum electric power is at all times available. Like AMG’s other PHEVs, the battery even recharges itself the harder you drive.
There are 4 different levels of regenerative braking, with greater than 100 kW of energy in a position to be recuperated back into the battery, and the strongest setting allows for one-pedal driving like in an EV. AMG won’t say how much electric range the SL63 S E Performance may have, but it surely’s unlikely to be greater than a dozen miles; customers can plug in and charge up the automotive with a 3.7-kW onboard charger.
The SL63 S E Performance comes standard with the SL’s fancy Energetic Ride Control suspension, with uses hydraulics instead of conventional anti-roll bars to eliminate body roll and improve dynamics. Also standard are carbon-ceramic brakes, rear-wheel steering and eight different drive modes, including a battery hold mode that uses the engine to keep up the battery charge.
Except for the charge port within the rear bumper, you may spot an SL63 S E Performance by the red badge outlines and grooved exhaust suggestions. AMG tweaked the SL’s energetic aerodynamics for the hybrid, including five recent angles for the rear spoiler. Aside from recent hybrid pages and designs for the infotainment system, the inside is an identical as well. Mercedes recently expanded the supply of the SL’s Manufaktur options, with lots more special paints and leather colours to select from just like the Mid Ireland Green Magno in these images.
Mercedes says the SL63 S E Performance will go on sale within the U.S. sooner or later next yr for the 2024 model yr. With the usual SL63 already costing $184,150 before options, expect a starting price of well past the $200k mark. The recently redesigned GT coupe will get a PHEV variant too, potentially with much more power than the SL.
This Article First Appeared At jalopnik.com
