Car News

2016 Mercedes-Benz SL facelift leaked

Images of the facelifted Mercedes-Benz SL have been leaked prior to the car’s official debut at the Los Angeles motor show next week.

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The images confirm that the updated SL will adopt minor styling changes designed to bring it in line with the current Mercedes-Benz family, and in particular the Mercedes-AMG GT sports car. A redesigned front grille and LED headlight clusters can be seen, alongside tweaked exhaust outlets and a re-profiled bumper at the rear.

The SL’s engine line-up is unlikely to change significantly, meaning the current range of 3.0-litre V6, 4.6-litre and 5.5-litre V8s and 6.0-litre V12 engines will carry over. The high-performance SL63 has also been leaked, and is understood to be keeping its current 577bhp 5.5-litre V8 engine. Styling changes for the SL63 include a new grille, new carbon fibre exterior trim and new allow wheels.

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Reflecting similar changes made to the SLK back in April, Mercedes’s new nine-speed automatic transmission will be optional for the first time, replacing the existing 7-speed automatic unit. In the SLK, the new transmission helps to improve fuel consumption by 5.3mpg while also improving that car’s 0-62mph sprint time.

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Inside, the SL receives new materials and details designed to refresh its premium image, as well as a new free-standing infotainment screen running the latest version of Mercedes’s COMAND software. A touch-sensitive controller for the system, already in use elsewhere in the Mercedes range, also features, as does a new dash-mounted clock.

With the facelifted SLC (formerly SLK) scheduled to launch at the beginning of 2016, it’s likely the updated SL will be seen towards the middle of next year.

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1 comment

the guy with no name November 15, 2015 at 9:15 pm

I don’t know why but Merc can’t make this thing ever look good. From the front it looks half decent now, but the back is still too long and ugly.

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