Mercedes Teases Next-Gen SL by Showing Off Its Features

Mercedes has a unique way of teasing new models. Most makers just use pictures of the car from obtuse angles that make it difficult to determine what the car looks like. Mercedes gives us teaser pictures of the new car, and tells us some of its new features.

For the first time, the SL has an aluminum, instead of steel, body shell. Just the A-pillar and roof frame are still made of steel. Mercedes has refined and lightened the body shell of the next-gen SL-class by 110kg. The overall weight of the SL500 will be 125kg less than the previous generation, and the SL350 will weigh 140kg less.

"The result is perceptible and measurable. Less weight means more dynamism and less consumption. In other words: the motoring enjoyment increases and the environmental burden sinks," Dr Thomas Rudlaff who is responsible for the aluminum body shell at Mercedes.

One of the new features on the next-gen SL-class is FrontBass. The speakers on the new SL-class are mounted in the floor, instead of the door panels like in a normal car. Cavities in the floor act as resonating chambers giving the speakers precise low notes with little distortion. The firewall, floor and dashboard funnel the sound into the passenger compartment, which Mercedes says means that it does not have to feed as much power to the speakers leading to reduced CO2 emissions. FrontBass comes on the SL-class as standard.

Another feature that Mercedes-Benz is touting on the new SL is Magic Vision Control. The system imbeds the windshield washer into the windshield wiper so when activated the wiper cleans the windshield as it moved across. The system even detects the exterior temperature and whether the top is down. When the top is open, the system uses less water to keep occupants from getting wet. In cold weather, the wiper blade is heated that also heats the fluid.

That is all Mercedes is telling us about the new SL for now. Although, it says that all reveal everything before the year is out.