The Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class AMG Sports Coupe has gullwing doors that are different from the conventional doors that many cars come with. The gullwing doors for this car are designed to open upwards using gas struts. The doors open upwards directly and not upwards and forward as it is the case with SLR model. However, the doors are designed to close manually, and from the reviews we see about this car, many people do not like this particular feature. The idea to use this method was as a result of the fact that the automatic closing systems would have increased the weight of the car by an additional 41 kilograms (90 pounds). The gullwing doors have a safety feature which makes it easy to detach the doors incase of a roll-over so that passengers or car occupants can get out of the car easily. Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class AMG sports coupe reviews indicate that there are several versions of the car, some of which have been launched already while others are expected to be launched into the car market between 2012 and 2013. Some of these versions include -: SLS AMG GT3, SLS AMG Blackbird, SLS AMG E-Cell and SLS AMG Roadster which was released in may 2011
The engine of the Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class AMG sports coupe has superb features that make it to have performances that are difficult to attain by other cars. It is reputed to be capable of accelerating from 0 km/hour to 100km/hr in 3.8 seconds! The engine is a M 159 liquid cooled V8 four stroke engine, with a cylinder bank angle that is at ninety degrees. The engine has four valves and cylinders, a forged and balanced crankshaft, forged pistons, two 74 mm (2.91 inch) throttles, Bosch ME 9.7 ECU electronic fuel injection. The Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class AMG Sports Coupe also has tubular steel exhaust headers, Bore X stroke: 102.2 mm (4.02 inch) x 94.46 mm (3.72 inch) with a displacement of 378.835 cu inch (6.20799L). The power produced from the engine is 571PS (420Kw, 563 hp) at 6800 rpm and the torque of the engine is about 650N.m (480lb.ft) at 4750 rpm. The torque per litre is about 104.7 N.m (77.2 lb.ft) at a Max of 7200 rpm. The engine lubrication is by dry sump and its weight can be about 206 kg (450lb).
It is important to also consider the wheel specifications of Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class AMG Sports Coupe. The wheel base is usually about 2680mm (105.5 inch), the length is about 4638mm (182.6 inch), width is about 1939mm (76.3 inch) and a height of about 1262mm (49.7 inch). The rims of the wheel are made from forged aluminium and measure about 9.50 x 19 inch for the front wheels and 11 x 20 for the rear wheels. The tyre sizes and dimensions are usually 265/35 R 19 for front tyres and 295/30 R20 for rear tyres. The kerb weight of the wheels is usually about 3562.48 lb (1620 kg) and a power to weight ratio of 348 bhp/tonne. The weight to power ratio is usually about 2.78kg (6.1lb)/1 PS (0.74KW)
There are various types of transmissions for Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class AMG Sports Coupe which include controlled efficiency labelled as C, Sports transmission labelled as S, and sports plus labelled as S+, and manual transmission labelled as M. The brakes of the car are cast iron brake discs with six piston aluminium callipers in the front wheels and four piston callipers in the rear wheels. The brakes are reputed to have a good stopping power with about 40 percent standard weight reduction when compared to the normal brake system.