Mercedes-AMG SL Roadster finally arrives, here’s what it is about

Mercedes-AMG has unveiled the much-anticipated SL Roadster. For the first time in two decades, the car uses a soft top instead of a hardtop, runs on a new platform, and has a plug-in hybrid variant coming up later.

The company claims that new architecture is both more rigid than the old one and weighs less. A lower center of gravity enables sharper steering and results in an exterior design that looks more aggressive and overall more in line with the times.

Interior photos had been posted online ahead of the premiere, but in case you missed them, the largest change is that the digital dashboard and the infotainment touchscreen are no longer merged together. The multimedia display is now portrait-oriented and standalone.

Two V8 versions will be the first to reach the showrooms, one of them rated at 476 PS (469 hp / 350 kW) and 700 Nm (516 lb-ft) and the other at 585 PS (577 hp / 430 kW) and 800 Nm (590 lb-ft) of torque. An AMG Speedshift MCT 9G will fill in the role of the transmission in both cases. The top specification will sprint 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.6 seconds, and the lower spec will need only 0.3 seconds more than that. A plug-in hybrid will join the lineup later, but the company reveals nothing about it at the time.