Image via Complex Original
I'm flying down the main straight of Willow Springs' "Big Willow" race track at 165 mph in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series in hot pursuit of an SLS AMG GT. Despite my car's obvious superiority on track, I'm finding the lead car impossible to catch, piloted as it is by Maximillian Gotz, hot off his 1st place finish at the 24 Hours of Spa in an SLS AMG GT3. My car was absolutely stable, betraying not a hint of shudder or shake as I braked for the slightly cambered, fast 90-degree left-hander, and that's when the essense of this car hit me: It's the only road car that has ever felt like a race car to me.
I've driven some amazing supercars for Complex, including SRT Vipers and Audi R8 V10s, but they were all just very impressive sports cars. This was a race car with turn signals; driving it reminded me more of the formula cars I drove at the Bridgestone Racing Academy than it did of the Viper, and I went into this thinking it was going to basically be a fancy, more precise German Viper. Let me explain.
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It's not just an upgrade to the SLS, it's an overhaul.
The SLS AMG has always been an impressive car, but it was always the sifter supercar choice; still a Mercedes, it was just as comfortable on a daily drive or a road trip as any other expensive car. The Black Series, however, has been tightened in every way. The suspension is stiffer, the throttle response is instant, the brakes are intensely powerful, the center of gravity is lower, the differential is more precise, the car is 154 lbs lighter, and, of course, the engine is more powerful.
The 622 horsepower and 468 ft-lb of torque version of my favorite V8 now revs to a screaming 8,000 rpms and rockets the SLS Black to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds, and on to a top speed of 196 mph. That speed isn't all wasted either, as I can personally attest to the car's absolutely incredible grip. At one point I overheard the words "1.5 Gs on turn eight" getting tossed around. No joke.
The track was appropriate for the car.
To test this vehicle, a group of journalists was flown to Willow Springs race track just North of L.A., and plopped into the car on the Big Willow track. Big Willow is a nine-turn, 2.5-mile road course that is best defined by it's long, sweeping, slightly banked turns. There's only really one section of the track that can be described as "tight," and as a result there's a ton of potential for speed here.
- Turn One: A slightly banked high speed 90-degree left-hander.
- Turn Two: A double apex sweeper that was counterintuitively best taken right in the middle of the track. Exiting too wide put us in a notable amount of gravel, and the SLS Black is not a rally car.
- Turns Three and Four: This was tricky, and one person went off track here. You have to brake hard and get back on the throttle as you climb the hill. Just as you turn in for turn four, you start going downhill, and the rear of the car can get light. I usually got a smidge of oversteer coming out of turn three.
- Turns Five and Six: Setting up this fairly fast left and even fast right hander really sets the stage for the rest of the track.
- Turn Seven: This is a test of courage, more than technique. It's just enough of a corner to make you think that taking it flat out could be a bad idea, but in reality, it's a really good idea.
- Turn Eight: This is the longest and most steeply banked turn on the track. Smooth steering input, a good line, and gentle throttle modulation make all the difference.
- Turn Nine: It's really tempting to brake harder than you have to here, after the speed and tension of turn eight, but a late turn-in and a decent entry speed means that the straight that follows will be full of intoxicating acceleration.
It looks the part.
Walking up to the SLS Black, with it's massive and already opened gullwing door inviting me to get in and bump my head on the way out (several times), it's immediately striking how loudly this car seems to yell "GIVE ME A GENTLEMAN RACER." It still has the refined lines that make the regular SLS the gentleman's supercar, as opposed to the more ostentatious and obnoxious choices from Italy, but all of the carbon fiber aero pieces, especially that huge fixed rear wing, let you know that this is no middle ground between a supercar and a grand tourer; the SLS AMG Black Series is all about speed.
We're not fans of vestigial aero, and that's what makes this look so perfect. It has a huge wing, and it's fast enough and precise enough to use all the downforce you can throw at it. The SLS Black looks like a GT3 car with turn signals, and it's perfect that way.
It has a mechanical attitude.
The aethetics of the SLS Black match the driving persona of the car perfectly. It doesn't just look like a GT3 car, it genuinely feels like a race car. It's not quite as twitchy and unforgiving as an actual racecar, but it is the only road car that has ever made me think it's just a few tweaks away from being one.
If you're not smooth on the throttle the car will lurch. If you're not smooth on the steering you'll get understeer. If you brake too hard you can shift the weight too far forward and lose rear traction. You can spin the car with the traction control on by not being smooth with the throttle. For a modern road car, it's not the easiest car to drive, but if you are precise with your inputs, you'll be rewarded with incredible speed and amazing grip. Around turn eight I managed to glance down once and I was cornering at 120 mph and pulling well over a G of lateral grip. I didn't manage to get a clear reading on exactly how much grip the AMG Performance Media was displaying though, as I had more pressing things to be looking for, like the braking zone for turn nine.
I'm in love.
That buttoned-down, race-bred feeling was intoxicating when I experienced it for the first time in a Formula SCCA car, and not even the SRT Viper GTS at Sonoma Raceway prepared me for just how engaging a car could be before that. I've driven a lot of cars for Complex, and I've really enjoyed a number of them, but this is something different. This is the only car that has ever given me a similar feeling to being strapped in to a real race car.
The SLS Black's engine is charismatic, powerful, high-revving, and quick revving. It's my new favorite V8. The handling is brilliant, and purer than anything else I've driven. The looks are stunning, and speak to my personal tastes very directly. I had a hard time starting this piece, because I didn't feel I'd be able to do the car justice, but I think I've figured out how.
If I had $275,000, I would have driven one home from LA because I'm in love with the SLS AMG Black Series. Now when people ask me what my favorite car that I've driven is, I'll have an easy answer, because it genuinely hurt to say "goodbye" to this one.
