@@ALIENdrifter66 This is true but the same thing is happening with a lot of dedicated sportscar manufacturers like Porsche they have been adding more and more luxury features to their base models with every new generation while shifting the performance increases over towards specialty models that cost way more while still increasing weight overall despite using exotic materials.
@@fischlimonade That's true, but you have to remember what happened to Porsche, they ran out of money because selling expensive sports cars didn't work for them and had to be bought by VW (through Audi). They changed their path and started producing cars that were desirable for a bigger audience, introducing cars like the Cayenne and dividing their 911 lineup into the hardcore versions (GT2 and GT3) and the normal versions
My dad, who owns a 2018 model year, was shocked by the new one. Heavy, unnecessary seats in the back and why AWD? He compared it to the M8 now and I think he isn't entirely wrong, being a sporty GT instead of a sportscar. I personally am only bothered by the design. The current design language isn't great, and this shows here especially. The SL looks much more elegant and sporty. Which is ironic. Anyway, nice video as usual.
Mazda has received feedback from their customers that the Miata should get bigger, more luxurious, more powerful etc. More more more. But unlike most car companies they realised that the customer doesn't know what they want and keep the miata small. If only Mercedes thought the same. Sports leichts (Sports Light) my ass.
Miata is fun. Not the fastest, not the largest, not the most powerful, but genuinely fun to drive. Little nimble mf. Mazda really knows how to make me regret my choice to not get that little cute red car
It’s called sportlich leicht in german, „Sports leichts“ are non existing words. The S ending doesn’t work in Germany like it does in english. Also the Miata should be kept as small and light as possible, but there should be a version with more power. Under 200hp aren’t adequate anymore these days. Make it 250hp with proper brakes and the Miata is perfect!
I love how you explain the purpose and causes of why cars are like they are in terms of design, manufacturing process, engineeering solutions, sales, etc, it gives me a wider perspective but also makes me more critical about what I would choose if I was to drive and experience a car
It's pretty sad. Instead of the AMG GT, we now effectively have the CL back - and there is no replacement for the sportscar line. I wonder if this is MB falling into the trap of listening to customers who want more features, more comforts and more space, and not accepting that some products will have to stay niche if they want to keep their identity. The old AMG GT, especially in the hotter versions, was more uncompromising than most people perhaps imagined it would be, but it's definitely not the case that you can't sell a high end sportscar today - as cars like the 911 or the Corvette prove. They should have just refined the AMG GT more, but I guess their vision for going forward with the car was lacking and it all just got swept in corporate bean counting. It's funny, though, how the same thing is repeating over and over. The 300SL was perhaps the first supercar - and over time it developed into a big, GT cruiser. So, as a response, MB came up with the SLR - only for it to develop into a big, GT cruiser. Now only waiting for this to happen to the AMG One...
Little correction: The new SL and AMG GT actually aren't based on the e class platform. The only GT branded car that is based on the e class (w213) platform is the AMG GT 4 door. The new SL and GT are actually based on the so-called MSA (modular sportscar architecture) platform, which has been specifically developed by AMG for these cars.
Yes they are based on the MSA platform, which is based on their standard models to be compatible for things like hybrid drivetrain, AWD, cost saving etc
the original SLS was a perfect homage and a great car,styling wise (i've never driven it). also it ran with the classic amg formula of putting a huge naturally aspirated engine under the hood.
5:27 The loss of it's proportions you mentioned is the worst thing in my opinion, with the cabin moved forward and that swooping roof-line it looks like a 911 with a giant nose. Which can't really be a bad thing I guess, I love 911's, but it's more interesting when manufacturers go their own way.
Great video as usual. So tired of cars continuing to get heavier and heavier, despite their clever suspension techniques/technology. The steering in many cars is also extremely numb. btw sounds like you are recording in a new, larger, room. You are getting a bit of echo now.
For me, the glory days of Mercedes-Benz were when you could find in the lineup a small, affordable-ish and fun CC 2 seater, a big, comfortable, GT 2-seater CC (with an optional V12 engine), a regular sized coupe and its convertible version (also with a thundering V8), a bigger coupe and convertible, and a full size luxe-barge in coupe and convertible form, both also available with the optional V12, two sleek 4 door coupes and their shooting brake counterparts, and of course, at the top, the sportscar/supercar, classy enough to fit in any good family, and competent enough to go viral just by revving, available as a coupe, convertible, and all the way to the Black Series (shoutout too to the SLS Electric Drive, a forgotten gem with 700 hp, 4 motors and torque vectoring 10 years ago). And that's just the coupes and convertibles! Mercedes really was having a product for more than everyone, you could even have your Smart convertible and personalise it so that the paint and the interior would match the interior of your shoes. It really showed how Mercedes was dominating all other brands in terms of just engineering flex. Oh, and you could have all of these fettled and made even crazier by Brabus. Unbelievable. Mercedes today is still incredibly sprawling, but it's just not at the heights of those incredible times. They were also gorgeous, too.
Reference: I had an AMG GT roadster lease for three years, most time in the mountain, test drove a 2023 SL for 10 minutes. Spent a day with a 2019 E class loaner, SLK350 for two years, drove my friend's SLK55 about half hour. My decision for now is to hunker down with a AMG engine Emira to let the dust settle. I maintain my stance that if I were ok with a 4seat 2 door GT, I would naturally be ok with just a CLE, so might as well just go CLE. The moment I got into the SLK55 was "wow the front is so heavy", my memorable impression with the SLK350 was "wow upgrading to locking diff from stock diff is so noticeable". If I were to fancy an SL, naturally I would go the V12 option so the new SL doesn't work either. My first impression in a 2023 SL was "damn it, where's my hydraulic steering". I keep pushing the sales man to reach out to higher rank to see if there's a rear seat delete option in a 2025 GT. Once I brake in the 2023 SL, it's so noticeable that the engine mass is interacting with the front suspension geometry differently than the 2018 GT's. The new GT/SL thing does not offer connection (communication) with the condition of the road, which reminds me of my friend's tuned 340i with suspension and tire upgrade. I know some drivers can still push to the limit without "feeling" the road but that's not me. I understand there are many regions of the world rains and snow a lot and that Mercedes's current AWD asset would mean stuff like dry sump delete, raise the engine, crankshaft to diff misalignment but hey, not my problem.
ive heard someone say "the gt is finally a grand tourer", which is an interesting way to look at it. I hope if this is the way they choose to take things, its because they feel that somehow the gt was limited in some way and that means it needs to start fresh to make a whole new sports car. maybe that means itll be mid engined? maybe not? maybe they bring back the SL naming since for whatever reason it dissappeared with the AMG GT and GTR taking over from the SLS.
The SL badge never disappeared, it just became more niche, more like a connoisseur kind of car. Interestingly enough, you could still have it with a V12 for the last two gens, that was actually more powerful and more expensive than the SLS or the AMG GT (except maybe the Black Series versions), which really few people noticed. It just shows that there was a steady, faithful customer base that wanted uncompromising GT credentials, and was OK with the brash little brother take the spotlight, because they knew they had the ultimate MB and the ultimate bragging rights. Or maybe they were just people of taste. I will be curious to see if the change of the SL into a more generic machine will drive them away.
I can only hope they make more sporty, track focused versions of this down the line. Let's not forget when the previous AMG GT came out, there was no GT R or Black Series.
I'll finish it exactly as you started the video. "Mercedes and sports cars are a very interesting topic" Full of failures I may add. With such replacement I belive my GT-C will keep resale price for many more years.
Mercedes is run by people who has read about the old cars but never driven one, or repaired one for that matter. Not an engineering textbook in sight, but libraries full of coffee table books, with big pictures. What they read was MB made luxury cars. And thats why this generation of c-suite won't produce a proper Mercedes-Benz machine ever again.
When the SLS came out there were rumors that it was based on a canceled Viper replacement developed in the Daimler Chrysler days. You think there is any truth to that?
Does this perhaps pave the way for a mid engined AMG sports car? Beyond the folly that is the AMG One of course. We all know that McLaren was heavily pushing that concept during the SLR's development. Instead what we got was a 1.7 tonne compromise with the 5.4 V8 pushed 1 metre back.
They should develop a mid engine car, or an electric supercar... This "rebranding" is just a way to save the SL from it's reputation of being a boring car for elderly people.
I don't know about Germany, but in my country, AMGs are bought by a certain kind of poser to cruise around big cities and do excessive speeding on highways. Just like M8s and such. So this new version is exactly that, just more and probably cheaper to manufacture. If you care about sports cars, you buy used anyway.
I just want Mercedes to make a small, nimble, torque monster car with no gimmick whatsoever. I just want them to have a very raw taste of car. Especially after tasting the cr500, my sense of speed is broken by a lot. The abruptness is so mesmerizing, but sadly there's no car that I've driven has that abruptness. Just hope merc make something like that, just small 1200 kilo car with enough torque from an NA engine to send someone to the toilet once the powerband kicks in.
I really prefer the new AMG for its new look. I wasn't a fan of old SLS and AMG GT. I didn't like the enormous bonet at all. That one is really better in opinion. But it's truly a shame to sell 190€ a 2T car. I don't care about cost or something . I want a full carbon fibers chassis! If it's too much for Mercedes to produce lightweight sports car, then they need to not build them. I hope it will not kill the idea of mercedes to build great looking coupe. The world need the beautie of a coupe I SWEAR!!!!
The not mentioned SLK should have been developed more, a coupe instead of the dinky folding roof. With the V8 it was a pretty good performer at around 1500 kg and with the aftermarket supercharger was and still is a real performance car. Typically Mercedes the suspension was not sports tuned so in that regard it could not match the performance orientated opposition. Maybe a bit small for today's market but at least with the right attention it would have been respected as a competitive performance car.
Maybe cars with internal combustion engines have peaked a few years ago and now we’re just witnessing their slow decline… They probably just put 4-wheel drive in the car to not get outperformed from 0-100 by any 50k€ EVs.
The 0-100 is not the most important thing A base Tesla has faster acceleration than a base Porsche 911, but the Tesla handles turns like shit in comparison to a Porsche
I've heard people argue that cars have been declining for my whole life (born 1999). 2000s cars used to be disliked for looking too bloated, being too heavy, abandoning manual gearboxes in favour of automatics or flappy paddles and having too many electrical and computerised systems compared to 90s cars (ask anyone who owned an E46 M3 what it was like to be forced to take their car to get diagnosed with an "authorised computer"). And now, people are starting to miss them (I do too, this was arguably the decade of the V10 with cars like the Viper, Gallardo, R8, E60/E61 M5, E63 M6, 2nd gen RS6, Carrera GT etc). 2010s cars were hated for downsizing their engines, being too heavy, losing manual gearboxes in favour of automatics or flappy paddles, lack of steering feel, having too many electrical and computerised systems compared to 2000s cars, engine sounds becoming weaker due to turbocharged engines etc, cars trying way too hard to look angry as fuk in an attempt to copy Lamborghini's design philosophy etc. 2020s cars are being hated due to them being too heavy, too complicated to work on due to increasing electrical and computerised systems incorporated in the cars, lack of manual gearboxes, lack of steering feel, cars sounding quieter due to downsized turbocharged engines and California Exhaust Noise Laws, a**hole dealerships jacking up prices etc.
Despite overall prestige of the manufacturer being greater than VAG taken as a whole (outside of Europe, Audi is seen as premium but half a notch below Mercedes and BMW), one has to say that VAG has been much more successful than Mercedes at making sports cars, be it for the presence of Porsche, be it because they also acquired Lamborghini. Instead, Mercedes never built a "mass manufactured" proper sports car since the 1960s 😅
I have only cared about its GT3 version anyway but they must be abandoning the racing program for this type. It is sad that AMG is mimicking Audi in this regard, no Hyper-car and their factory drivers leaving as well.
quite sad how the SL went from sportscar to heavy cruiser and the same fate happened to the model that was suppose to solve it a great example of how a profit driven system leads to mediocracy
Amazing (and disappointing) a company like Mercedes cannot find enough enthusiasm internally to develop a successor to the transaxle models. The new one apes the 911, but at 2000kg can never ever be anything like it.
Absolutely bonkers that they changed the car from a sports car to a super GT but kept the name the same and acted like they simply came out with the next generation. Guess we aren't going to be getting a new GT3 car from AMG 😣 Was hoping to continue hearing that great 6.2L V8 on track
I hope it fails miserably with customers. Prestige sports car with proud historic lineage should be a passion project, not a cost effective product conceived by beancounters. While the SLS will be forever remembered as an icon, this crap will get shredded and recycled as soon as the new replacement comes out. It has no redeeming quality other than fleeting looks and even that's arguable. Also, what a terrible timing to come out with such a bad platform, just when the GT3 racing category is shifting into overdrive and replacing GTEs at Le Mans. Mercedes GT back at Le Mans is a big deal, but Mercedes has now no worthy road car to celebrate it with. Even AMG GT3 customers are already leaving the ship.
I’ve never really understood Mercedes sports cars, it’s like they have a design philosophy they won’t stray from. The should start with a clean slate, forget their previous designs and characteristics and produce the best sports car they can for less than say 160k… they’re one of the most capable vehicle manufactures but I don’t know… are they targeting a niche or trying to steer the next trend? Don’t make sense…
I think it's quite simple to understand. Mercedes has always wanted their own 911 along with Porsche's profit margins. That's why the progression of SLR > SLS > AMG GT > GT/SL has an overall downgrading tendency. No matter what you do, it's always too costly for the higher ups. But it will never work because top tier engineering and cost cutting is mutually exclusive.
Mercedes-Benz and others have lost their way on car design. A sportscar should be under 1100 kg. Currently very few manufacturers are close (Alpine is virtually alone...). I think that the real issue is that these cars are bought by elderly folks who only seek comfort, and care little for the planet or sporty driving. Therefore, manufacturers tell folks that these cars are sporty and folks seem to believe them. This is similar to football fans wearing a football tracksuit whilst looking unfit...for anything other than playing darts.
It is crazy that this Sports Car is just a hundred kg lighter then a full size Audi RS6 Avant which is a large family wagon. What is the point of this thing. It certainly is not a sports car, but it is not really spacius enough to be a grand tourer either. It is just a heavy blob of a car.
I own two Benzes and was looking forward to owning AMG GT now I am pissed off. They ruined what I considered their best one yet.. They moved engine forward (no longer super car centered engine) and added seats in the back as if we need another 4 seater Benz. Completely retarded move by MB. Who approved this nonsense??? Its basically an E400 with more power.
This is far from being accurate: - the SL43 with the 4cyl 48V hybrid system has RWD (quite funny car) - the V8 engine is the same as in every AMG model in the recent years (very powerful and consumes very well if you just cruise around) and very reliable, expected in drift cars in the next years, perfect engine - the 4WD was necessary - the rear seatbank is enough for a baby or for a few bags -> the vehicle is not a 4-seater, this is simply BS (maybe officially it is, but it's a 2-seater) -> there's the GT 4-door which is the sporty-luxury-agressive vehicle what you described, but you can take your friends in it with you - being overweight is true (shame on them), it was a mistake by AMG but a 4WD system weighs normally around additional 200-250kg in every vehicle Believe me, both variants are epic to drive. You can only love them.
Not quite. AWD usually adds around 100kg depending on the system and I didn't say all versions have AWD. Mercedes says people up to 1.5m can sit in the back, so that's more than a baby. Being overweight is not a mistake by AMG, it's the Mercedes platform requirement.
@@BSport320 Yes but you didn't mention which version has RWD. Mercedes might says it but it's not really true, and on the other side if a child pushes himself/herself in that place it's very uncomfortable. But this is not for more than 2 people honestly.
awful looking? would you say the same of the current gen porsche's? they share very similar proportions now that the amg doesnt have the obscenely long hood anymore.
BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! It looks like a 911!!!! (in the same way a new corvette looks and sounds like a "FERRARA-LAMBO-McCLARICAN!!!) Shame on the engineers and mechanical art design graduates of the last 30yrs (of which I am not, duhhhh) oh well!! Cheers to all good people
So basically they made a sports car because their sporty car wasn't a sports car anymore. And now that very same car isn't a sports car anymore. 🤔
It’s Mercedes, what can you expect, they’re not really into sports cars
Spot on. You nailed it
@@ALIENdrifter66 This is true but the same thing is happening with a lot of dedicated sportscar manufacturers like Porsche they have been adding more and more luxury features to their base models with every new generation while shifting the performance increases over towards specialty models that cost way more while still increasing weight overall despite using exotic materials.
@@fischlimonade That's true, but you have to remember what happened to Porsche, they ran out of money because selling expensive sports cars didn't work for them and had to be bought by VW (through Audi). They changed their path and started producing cars that were desirable for a bigger audience, introducing cars like the Cayenne and dividing their 911 lineup into the hardcore versions (GT2 and GT3) and the normal versions
My dad, who owns a 2018 model year, was shocked by the new one. Heavy, unnecessary seats in the back and why AWD? He compared it to the M8 now and I think he isn't entirely wrong, being a sporty GT instead of a sportscar.
I personally am only bothered by the design. The current design language isn't great, and this shows here especially. The SL looks much more elegant and sporty. Which is ironic. Anyway, nice video as usual.
Mazda has received feedback from their customers that the Miata should get bigger, more luxurious, more powerful etc. More more more.
But unlike most car companies they realised that the customer doesn't know what they want and keep the miata small.
If only Mercedes thought the same. Sports leichts (Sports Light) my ass.
Miata is fun. Not the fastest, not the largest, not the most powerful, but genuinely fun to drive. Little nimble mf. Mazda really knows how to make me regret my choice to not get that little cute red car
And its is what has kept it alive for over 30 years now!
It’s called sportlich leicht in german, „Sports leichts“ are non existing words.
The S ending doesn’t work in Germany like it does in english.
Also the Miata should be kept as small and light as possible, but there should be a version with more power.
Under 200hp aren’t adequate anymore these days.
Make it 250hp with proper brakes and the Miata is perfect!
I love how you explain the purpose and causes of why cars are like they are in terms of design, manufacturing process, engineeering solutions, sales, etc, it gives me a wider perspective but also makes me more critical about what I would choose if I was to drive and experience a car
Glad you enjoyed it!
It's pretty sad. Instead of the AMG GT, we now effectively have the CL back - and there is no replacement for the sportscar line.
I wonder if this is MB falling into the trap of listening to customers who want more features, more comforts and more space, and not accepting that some products will have to stay niche if they want to keep their identity. The old AMG GT, especially in the hotter versions, was more uncompromising than most people perhaps imagined it would be, but it's definitely not the case that you can't sell a high end sportscar today - as cars like the 911 or the Corvette prove. They should have just refined the AMG GT more, but I guess their vision for going forward with the car was lacking and it all just got swept in corporate bean counting.
It's funny, though, how the same thing is repeating over and over. The 300SL was perhaps the first supercar - and over time it developed into a big, GT cruiser. So, as a response, MB came up with the SLR - only for it to develop into a big, GT cruiser. Now only waiting for this to happen to the AMG One...
AMG One SUV when?
At 1700kg, AMG One already kind of a GT car, but with a twist of F1 tech.
Well said
Little correction: The new SL and AMG GT actually aren't based on the e class platform. The only GT branded car that is based on the e class (w213) platform is the AMG GT 4 door. The new SL and GT are actually based on the so-called MSA (modular sportscar architecture) platform, which has been specifically developed by AMG for these cars.
Yes they are based on the MSA platform, which is based on their standard models to be compatible for things like hybrid drivetrain, AWD, cost saving etc
I'd like to see a Mid Engine/Rear engined Merc Supercar to use as GT3 Base
the original SLS was a perfect homage and a great car,styling wise (i've never driven it). also it ran with the classic amg formula of putting a huge naturally aspirated engine under the hood.
I agree. I love how the SLS looks.
Thanks for the insight.
Let’s see how the sales numbers go. I bet many customers have no idea the 300kg difference
Well - you need to see the opportunity here: the OG AMG GT will be very soon a very rare classic sports car. Get your self one if you can afford it 😉
Very true, bad successors always make valuable classics😁
@@BSport320 Nope, not always and not automatically ☝🏻. But if the successor falls short to expectations it is very beneficial 😁
5:27 The loss of it's proportions you mentioned is the worst thing in my opinion, with the cabin moved forward and that swooping roof-line it looks like a 911 with a giant nose. Which can't really be a bad thing I guess, I love 911's, but it's more interesting when manufacturers go their own way.
Great video as usual. So tired of cars continuing to get heavier and heavier, despite their clever suspension techniques/technology. The steering in many cars is also extremely numb.
btw sounds like you are recording in a new, larger, room. You are getting a bit of echo now.
Yes sorry for the echo
The story of M cars
For me, the glory days of Mercedes-Benz were when you could find in the lineup a small, affordable-ish and fun CC 2 seater, a big, comfortable, GT 2-seater CC (with an optional V12 engine), a regular sized coupe and its convertible version (also with a thundering V8), a bigger coupe and convertible, and a full size luxe-barge in coupe and convertible form, both also available with the optional V12, two sleek 4 door coupes and their shooting brake counterparts, and of course, at the top, the sportscar/supercar, classy enough to fit in any good family, and competent enough to go viral just by revving, available as a coupe, convertible, and all the way to the Black Series (shoutout too to the SLS Electric Drive, a forgotten gem with 700 hp, 4 motors and torque vectoring 10 years ago). And that's just the coupes and convertibles! Mercedes really was having a product for more than everyone, you could even have your Smart convertible and personalise it so that the paint and the interior would match the interior of your shoes. It really showed how Mercedes was dominating all other brands in terms of just engineering flex. Oh, and you could have all of these fettled and made even crazier by Brabus. Unbelievable. Mercedes today is still incredibly sprawling, but it's just not at the heights of those incredible times. They were also gorgeous, too.
Reference: I had an AMG GT roadster lease for three years, most time in the mountain, test drove a 2023 SL for 10 minutes. Spent a day with a 2019 E class loaner, SLK350 for two years, drove my friend's SLK55 about half hour. My decision for now is to hunker down with a AMG engine Emira to let the dust settle. I maintain my stance that if I were ok with a 4seat 2 door GT, I would naturally be ok with just a CLE, so might as well just go CLE. The moment I got into the SLK55 was "wow the front is so heavy", my memorable impression with the SLK350 was "wow upgrading to locking diff from stock diff is so noticeable". If I were to fancy an SL, naturally I would go the V12 option so the new SL doesn't work either. My first impression in a 2023 SL was "damn it, where's my hydraulic steering". I keep pushing the sales man to reach out to higher rank to see if there's a rear seat delete option in a 2025 GT. Once I brake in the 2023 SL, it's so noticeable that the engine mass is interacting with the front suspension geometry differently than the 2018 GT's. The new GT/SL thing does not offer connection (communication) with the condition of the road, which reminds me of my friend's tuned 340i with suspension and tire upgrade. I know some drivers can still push to the limit without "feeling" the road but that's not me. I understand there are many regions of the world rains and snow a lot and that Mercedes's current AWD asset would mean stuff like dry sump delete, raise the engine, crankshaft to diff misalignment but hey, not my problem.
Are you planning to to a video about Semi Official 2026 F1 Render?
Yes coming up
Now the previous gen amg gt prices will📈📈
ive heard someone say "the gt is finally a grand tourer", which is an interesting way to look at it. I hope if this is the way they choose to take things, its because they feel that somehow the gt was limited in some way and that means it needs to start fresh to make a whole new sports car. maybe that means itll be mid engined? maybe not? maybe they bring back the SL naming since for whatever reason it dissappeared with the AMG GT and GTR taking over from the SLS.
The SL badge never disappeared, it just became more niche, more like a connoisseur kind of car. Interestingly enough, you could still have it with a V12 for the last two gens, that was actually more powerful and more expensive than the SLS or the AMG GT (except maybe the Black Series versions), which really few people noticed. It just shows that there was a steady, faithful customer base that wanted uncompromising GT credentials, and was OK with the brash little brother take the spotlight, because they knew they had the ultimate MB and the ultimate bragging rights. Or maybe they were just people of taste. I will be curious to see if the change of the SL into a more generic machine will drive them away.
I can only hope they make more sporty, track focused versions of this down the line. Let's not forget when the previous AMG GT came out, there was no GT R or Black Series.
This is the most polite "you dun f***ed up" message I've ever seen.
I'll finish it exactly as you started the video.
"Mercedes and sports cars are a very interesting topic"
Full of failures I may add.
With such replacement I belive my GT-C will keep resale price for many more years.
Facts. Because now no one can buy new what you have used.
Interesting video
Were the sales of the old AMG GT bad?
can you do a video on the newly released renders of the 2026 F1 cars?
This is what happens when accountants decided your product lineups.
Mercedes is run by people who has read about the old cars but never driven one, or repaired one for that matter. Not an engineering textbook in sight, but libraries full of coffee table books, with big pictures.
What they read was MB made luxury cars.
And thats why this generation of c-suite won't produce a proper Mercedes-Benz machine ever again.
The 2010 SLS Is still something
When the SLS came out there were rumors that it was based on a canceled Viper replacement developed in the Daimler Chrysler days. You think there is any truth to that?
Fat, like almost every modern car
Does this perhaps pave the way for a mid engined AMG sports car? Beyond the folly that is the AMG One of course. We all know that McLaren was heavily pushing that concept during the SLR's development. Instead what we got was a 1.7 tonne compromise with the 5.4 V8 pushed 1 metre back.
The accountants always win in the end 😢
If I had to choose nowadays I'd get the SLS. That NA V8 has to be insane
The rear is quite ugly. The sls is such a beautiful car
127k for a 4-cylinder ... they're having a laugh 😂
mercedes always finds a way to make a heavy ass car
5:53 Those are not 4 seats. Even calling it "2+2" would be too generous. It makes a 911 look like limousine.
Yes, Mercedes says seats for people up to 1.5m
They should make a viper
They should develop a mid engine car, or an electric supercar...
This "rebranding" is just a way to save the SL from it's reputation of being a boring car for elderly people.
I don't know about Germany, but in my country, AMGs are bought by a certain kind of poser to cruise around big cities and do excessive speeding on highways. Just like M8s and such. So this new version is exactly that, just more and probably cheaper to manufacture. If you care about sports cars, you buy used anyway.
the new gt is stunning
I just want Mercedes to make a small, nimble, torque monster car with no gimmick whatsoever. I just want them to have a very raw taste of car. Especially after tasting the cr500, my sense of speed is broken by a lot. The abruptness is so mesmerizing, but sadly there's no car that I've driven has that abruptness. Just hope merc make something like that, just small 1200 kilo car with enough torque from an NA engine to send someone to the toilet once the powerband kicks in.
I really prefer the new AMG for its new look. I wasn't a fan of old SLS and AMG GT. I didn't like the enormous bonet at all. That one is really better in opinion. But it's truly a shame to sell 190€ a 2T car. I don't care about cost or something . I want a full carbon fibers chassis! If it's too much for Mercedes to produce lightweight sports car, then they need to not build them.
I hope it will not kill the idea of mercedes to build great looking coupe. The world need the beautie of a coupe I SWEAR!!!!
The not mentioned SLK should have been developed more, a coupe instead of the dinky folding roof. With the V8 it was a pretty good performer at around 1500 kg and with the aftermarket supercharger was and still is a real performance car. Typically Mercedes the suspension was not sports tuned so in that regard it could not match the performance orientated opposition. Maybe a bit small for today's market but at least with the right attention it would have been respected as a competitive performance car.
Maybe cars with internal combustion engines have peaked a few years ago and now we’re just witnessing their slow decline…
They probably just put 4-wheel drive in the car to not get outperformed from 0-100 by any 50k€ EVs.
The 0-100 is not the most important thing
A base Tesla has faster acceleration than a base Porsche 911, but the Tesla handles turns like shit in comparison to a Porsche
@@scaldabagnoincrostato5402 why AWD then? Packing a 100kg on for AWD surely doesn’t help the handling..
@@AR_434you don’t seem to understand much about car handling
@@ALIENdrifter66 Explain? I‘ve never heard somebody say that a GT2 handles better than a GT3.
I've heard people argue that cars have been declining for my whole life (born 1999). 2000s cars used to be disliked for looking too bloated, being too heavy, abandoning manual gearboxes in favour of automatics or flappy paddles and having too many electrical and computerised systems compared to 90s cars (ask anyone who owned an E46 M3 what it was like to be forced to take their car to get diagnosed with an "authorised computer"). And now, people are starting to miss them (I do too, this was arguably the decade of the V10 with cars like the Viper, Gallardo, R8, E60/E61 M5, E63 M6, 2nd gen RS6, Carrera GT etc).
2010s cars were hated for downsizing their engines, being too heavy, losing manual gearboxes in favour of automatics or flappy paddles, lack of steering feel, having too many electrical and computerised systems compared to 2000s cars, engine sounds becoming weaker due to turbocharged engines etc, cars trying way too hard to look angry as fuk in an attempt to copy Lamborghini's design philosophy etc.
2020s cars are being hated due to them being too heavy, too complicated to work on due to increasing electrical and computerised systems incorporated in the cars, lack of manual gearboxes, lack of steering feel, cars sounding quieter due to downsized turbocharged engines and California Exhaust Noise Laws, a**hole dealerships jacking up prices etc.
The side view reminds me to a 911
Pain
Despite overall prestige of the manufacturer being greater than VAG taken as a whole (outside of Europe, Audi is seen as premium but half a notch below Mercedes and BMW), one has to say that VAG has been much more successful than Mercedes at making sports cars, be it for the presence of Porsche, be it because they also acquired Lamborghini. Instead, Mercedes never built a "mass manufactured" proper sports car since the 1960s 😅
At least they finally had the decency to not call it SL… it stopped being super light after the 3rd generation 🤦
I have only cared about its GT3 version anyway but they must be abandoning the racing program for this type. It is sad that AMG is mimicking Audi in this regard, no Hyper-car and their factory drivers leaving as well.
quite sad how the SL went from sportscar to heavy cruiser and the same fate happened to the model that was suppose to solve it
a great example of how a profit driven system leads to mediocracy
Amazing (and disappointing) a company like Mercedes cannot find enough enthusiasm internally to develop a successor to the transaxle models. The new one apes the 911, but at 2000kg can never ever be anything like it.
I like the look and the AWD, in principle, but yes, it's too pricey and too expensive
Absolutely bonkers that they changed the car from a sports car to a super GT but kept the name the same and acted like they simply came out with the next generation. Guess we aren't going to be getting a new GT3 car from AMG 😣 Was hoping to continue hearing that great 6.2L V8 on track
Mercedes executives have stated in the past that the amg gt is not a successor to the sls amg
Not directly, it is cheaper after all. But it is based it's entirely based on SLS mechanicals just like a shorter wheelbase and standard doors.
Bizarre. Please tell me what I would be getting over my 1850kg Infiniti Q60RS that I bought for 27k in 2019 with 5000 miles?
I hope it fails miserably with customers. Prestige sports car with proud historic lineage should be a passion project, not a cost effective product conceived by beancounters.
While the SLS will be forever remembered as an icon, this crap will get shredded and recycled as soon as the new replacement comes out. It has no redeeming quality other than fleeting looks and even that's arguable.
Also, what a terrible timing to come out with such a bad platform, just when the GT3 racing category is shifting into overdrive and replacing GTEs at Le Mans. Mercedes GT back at Le Mans is a big deal, but Mercedes has now no worthy road car to celebrate it with. Even AMG GT3 customers are already leaving the ship.
Add options people don't want and force them to pay more money for it!
The old AMG GT was so pretty. They've massacred my boy
So they combined the SL GT S class coupe into something based on the E class for money saving AMG is looking on the wrong path.
I’ve never really understood Mercedes sports cars, it’s like they have a design philosophy they won’t stray from.
The should start with a clean slate, forget their previous designs and characteristics and produce the best sports car they can for less than say 160k… they’re one of the most capable vehicle manufactures but I don’t know… are they targeting a niche or trying to steer the next trend? Don’t make sense…
I think it's quite simple to understand. Mercedes has always wanted their own 911 along with Porsche's profit margins.
That's why the progression of SLR > SLS > AMG GT > GT/SL has an overall downgrading tendency. No matter what you do, it's always too costly for the higher ups. But it will never work because top tier engineering and cost cutting is mutually exclusive.
It's going the wrong way around. Just the 300 kg and 4 seater alone makes this not a good replacement.
well, when u put it that way...yea, it's stupid
they should've gotten rid of SL-class altogether and made GT even more hardcore
Coming from carwow's race of the AMG GT vs the ioniq 5N the new amg gt is a fat failure in performance
When accounts do the engineering...
2000kg is not and never will be a sports car
Mercedes-Benz and others have lost their way on car design. A sportscar should be under 1100 kg. Currently very few manufacturers are close (Alpine is virtually alone...).
I think that the real issue is that these cars are bought by elderly folks who only seek comfort, and care little for the planet or sporty driving. Therefore, manufacturers tell folks that these cars are sporty and folks seem to believe them. This is similar to football fans wearing a football tracksuit whilst looking unfit...for anything other than playing darts.
This car is a fraud, not a true successor to the SLS and AMG GT
It is crazy that this Sports Car is just a hundred kg lighter then a full size Audi RS6 Avant which is a large family wagon.
What is the point of this thing. It certainly is not a sports car, but it is not really spacius enough to be a grand tourer either. It is just a heavy blob of a car.
Looks like a Porsche 911...
Basically changed their sports car into a grand touring car now shame
Imagine trying to make a race winner out of this in 2000s GT1 🤮
I own two Benzes and was looking forward to owning AMG GT now I am pissed off. They ruined what I considered their best one yet.. They moved engine forward (no longer super car centered engine) and added seats in the back as if we need another 4 seater Benz. Completely retarded move by MB. Who approved this nonsense??? Its basically an E400 with more power.
Mercedes has been making terrible decisions since the monopoly man retired
bummer
This is far from being accurate:
- the SL43 with the 4cyl 48V hybrid system has RWD (quite funny car)
- the V8 engine is the same as in every AMG model in the recent years (very powerful and consumes very well if you just cruise around) and very reliable, expected in drift cars in the next years, perfect engine
- the 4WD was necessary
- the rear seatbank is enough for a baby or for a few bags -> the vehicle is not a 4-seater, this is simply BS (maybe officially it is, but it's a 2-seater) -> there's the GT 4-door which is the sporty-luxury-agressive vehicle what you described, but you can take your friends in it with you
- being overweight is true (shame on them), it was a mistake by AMG but a 4WD system weighs normally around additional 200-250kg in every vehicle
Believe me, both variants are epic to drive. You can only love them.
Not quite.
AWD usually adds around 100kg depending on the system and I didn't say all versions have AWD.
Mercedes says people up to 1.5m can sit in the back, so that's more than a baby.
Being overweight is not a mistake by AMG, it's the Mercedes platform requirement.
@@BSport320 Yes but you didn't mention which version has RWD.
Mercedes might says it but it's not really true, and on the other side if a child pushes himself/herself in that place it's very uncomfortable. But this is not for more than 2 people honestly.
wtf, that just makes me sad
i'd rather get a porsche
awful looking car, great video though
awful looking? would you say the same of the current gen porsche's? they share very similar proportions now that the amg doesnt have the obscenely long hood anymore.
Thanks for the view
BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
It looks like a 911!!!! (in the same way a new corvette looks and sounds like a "FERRARA-LAMBO-McCLARICAN!!!) Shame on the engineers and mechanical art design graduates of the last 30yrs (of which I am not, duhhhh)
oh well!! Cheers to all good people
For me a not so special Car
Never was a Merc fan, now, I'm even less of a fan, awful car
Fake sports car. Good motor and everything else is crap
Blob.
Fail
in other words, they ruined it
Yes