New cars: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Car and Driver

The SLS is the first sports car built entirely by AMG, the Mercedes-Benz “tuner” division. Signature touches include doors that open upward, an elegant two-seat cabin “just generous enough for a relaxed slouch,” and controls that allow drivers to dial in their preferred level of performance. Yet despite its impressive features, this is “a conservative Tory in the parliament of sports cars,” a “luxury liner” that will appeal mainly to Mercedes loyalists.

Road & Track

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Yes, there are sportier, more opulent vehicles in its lofty price range, but this “exquisitely built” Grand Touring machine wins us over with an “intoxicating blend of power, performance, and style.” We love its “elegant” cabin, its lightweight aluminum chassis, and the “masterful” acceleration delivered by its 6.2-liter V8. Only 300 will be sold here in 2011. “This Mercedes will be highly prized 50 years from now,” as is the original gullwing.

Los Angeles Times

Although designed to evoke the iconic 300SL sportsters of the 1950s, the SLS AMG shares little with the originals besides the “trademark” doors. This gullwing is “outrageously, deliciously low and wide” and has a 563-hp engine that rockets it to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds. “For a similar feeling, fire yourself from a cannon.”