Rumors about a Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class started awhile back and for a short period of time, it was believed that the new SLS AMG would be called the SLC. Obviously, this is not the case, but hopes for an SLC are still not lost as Christoph Jung, development director of performance division AMG, has revealed: “There is room for an AMG model below the SLS, targeting the Porsche 911. This is the next market for AMG, and we are considering what is the right package.”
Although the new sports car is in the early stages, Jung revealed some details. It will have two seats – “otherwise it will be too heavy” – and be powered by a front-mounted V8 engine: “It has to be a V8. We have heritage and customers expect it.”
Most likely a development of the firm’s latest 5.5-litre twin-turbo, this engine would produce up to 373 kW, driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox. Expect 0 – 100 km/h in four seconds and a top speed of 295 km/h. “We have to have performance figures close to competitors, but we need much more,” Jung told AutoExpress. “We need it to sound right and go right. It can’t just be the most powerful. It has to have the whole package.”
Jung said that AMG had been paying particular attention to Jaguar. “It is very interesting for me to see the C-X16 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but I think the starting price of 60 000 Euros is very ambitious.” Jung hinted the new SLS model would have to start at around 80 000 Euros in order to be profitable. A coupe is a certainty, and a roadster could join it. “When you are new to a market, you can only offer one or two variants. You can’t expect to do more than that from the start.”
No dates have been confirmed, but such a car is likely to be three years away at the earliest.
