The 2009 Mercedes Benz SL Breaks Cover With A Flurry Of Images

Looks good! However, the previous design was timeless and will be missed. Im still liking the new one though, the side vents remind me of the 300SL. Cant wait to see it in person.

Glare-causing wood on the steering wheel is ridiculous and in real bad taste on a sports car.

This isnt a purist sports car. One can say wood is unnecessary period. This is a luxury coupe roadster, hence the wood

enn:

the SL is NOT a sports car. it's a grand tourer that handles amazingly well and accelerates like a beast.

all i see is a chrysler sebring convertible.

Mercedes is going back to the 80's with the Palomino color leather :) Nice!

not really feeling the front yet, maybe as i see more of them...looks ok for now!

i love everything but the headlights, but im sure it will grow on me

What did they do to my fav car?! I've always loved the styling of the SL... But I can't bring myself to like this new headlamp design... and the single rib'd grill?! Where'd the classic 2/3 rib grill go? Also, the head rest, finally, looks like they might be adding the AirScarf option to the car... but it looks obnoxiously big, and you can see HUGE fans from the back of them?!?!? Jesus... I don't know about this one, mybe the lights might grown on me... but them ugly headrests just wont do!

Thats the bit i do not understand, the current gen SLK has the airscarf function and yet has very slim and elegant headrests, so why this hideous cap on the SL seat ?

looks bad.

The one flaw in the design of the CLS is the front end, with those 1st year design student/oddly-shaped headlight assemblies.

The SL now joins the CLS in looking great everywhere but the front...

Note: These are my opinions, and you are not obligated share them.

What are those fan in the back of the head rest?

Its for the air-scarf, if you look at the front of the headrest you'll see a vent, it blows hot air on your neck to keep you warm as you drive around with the top down.

As this is a premium/luxury vehicle, I don't take much issue with the inclusion of (somewhat frivolous) features such as this 'air scarf', but...

What an inelegant (especially looking) solution!

lol can't u catch a cold that way?? when u get a mix of hot and cold air...

Yes, its identical to the CLS, The first year design students rushed and welded the front on there as a ast resort for a refresh! Gimme a break

It looks nothing like a CLS if you know what a CLS looks like and see one every day like I do. It only carries the design.

I'm loving the new redesign and the headlights follow those of the CLS.

Nice werk Mercedes ;-)

i love it. it's still going to sell like hotcakes. and the interior is probably the best in class. looks better than the m6 inside and out. and who cares about the xkr it won't compare to the new sl63. like the old one wasn't competition for the sl55.

I like this too, there's still no mistaking this for anything else. The vented head rests do look a bit odd shaped but its a great idea. I'm sure as time goes on MB will figure how to create a more conventional shape for it.

As time goes on ?

The SLK HAS AIRSCARF and yet manages to deliver the air in vents integrated into nice and slim Headrests. so why will MB need time to come up with a solution to a problem they have already solved ?

It took a while for the current generation to grow on me, but it eventually did and it's a car I really like. The original front end wasn't great, but this is worse - just too angular and seems like a pointless change. I suppose they had to attempt to keep it fresh as this car has much more competition than it did years ago, but I think they could have done better.

I like the interior color too...they should bring back more of the 70s and 80s interior colors, instead of primarily offering beige and gray and black.

im sure mercedes isn't worried about jaguar and it's 600hp xjr. mercedes is the king of horsepower and torque. remember they had a 600hp sl65 for how many years now.

True, but I'd much rather that horsepower gains be the result of intelligent/innovative engineering rather than (somewhat) archaic displacement increases.

IMO - There's simply NO logical reason for a modern performance vehicle to require 6.3liters of displacement.

Power and torque perhaps?

yes that's a dissapointement. The headlights and Single bar grille is ugly. The current car looks so much better than this.

JUGNU

Went from goofy and awkward to just downright ugly. Merc, please give the g37 its headlights back, please.

I love the new look.

The car looks sturdy :-)

So does Rosie O'Donnell

Agreed. It's like they had no idea what to do with it, seeing as it was practically flawless the first time.

The single-bar grille reminds me of my Mazda, which, on the SL, is a bad thing.

They could have done much better than this.

Like the interior hate the front end. The headrests are huge too. But I am sure there is a reason for that.
T

I think they forgot to change the back...

haha I thought the same thing...they were probably too tired from trying to figure out how to redesign the front for the past 5 years.

RUINED!

The exhaust...the front...the clearly tacked-on look.
It looks like an old car with a bad facelift...oh dear. The interior does not go with the exterior at all.

I thought the same.

I don't think they focussed on the interior at all, which still looks like a date early 2000s interior.

I knew that this was going to be a redesign, so I wasn't expecting to see a facelift. Really, this is a facelift and they forgot about the interior.

And you know what hits me? The front doesn't match the back, the bottom doesn't match the top, and the interior...well let's just say the air vents were designed to mirror the old headlights. They should be square now!!!

STUPID MERCEDES.
I will buy an old shape Sl500 as soon as I can and enjoy a much better looking and cohesive vehicle.
I want to scream abuse, the SL was been for about 15 years my favourite car in the world due to its class appeal and timeless beauty.
They have ruined my favourite car!

PLEASE MB...I HOPE YOU REDUCE THE FAT!!! I also think the current car looks better. Hope it is Photochop and interior should be updated. I do love the Head Rest Fans!!! lol Actually not...reduce weight dammit. My SL55 was a gas HOG! I wonder if the new SL with have better driving feedback?

Also what is the V6 under the hood in one of the pics? Calling BS. New SL to have V6 TT option?

There is a V6 available in Europe - the SL350.

Gotcha...I forget Europe gets more engine choices...fuel saving choices!!! :-)

I'm sorry to say that, from the front, it looks like some strange combination of a Peugeot and an Opel.

When the SL500 came out in 2003, I wanted one like never before. Another classic Mercedes-Benz design, ruined.

Ok Mercedes, what to do to fix this.

The grill is fine, the headlights though need to be fully rectangular, like the C class. Add a top strip above the current main headlight bit to be the same height as the swept up bit.
The rear lights need to be blockier to match the new exhausts - triangles are so not in right now.
The car needs a bit of trimming to lose the curves - leaner-looking. Dare I say it, flame surfacing?
The interior needs to be less 2003 - look to the past! Look a the 1990-2003 SL for inspiration for the shape.
Roof is fine.
From above the car looks fine, showing the design is alright when you can't see the disasters of the lights and exhausts (the worst bit of the car).

You Benz haters, just wait till you see this car on the road.

You'll all get it then!

You have been skooled.

why is the mercedes symbol so big. reminds me of the nissan symbol on the maxima. looks tacky

No, the M45's headlamps look great. They MATCH the rest of the design.

Not only are the new SL's light clusters more rounded and less cohesive, but they don't match the body of the car.

It seems as if the Merc designers looked here for inspiration:

http://peugeot.mainspot.net/pics/607_1.jpg

And here:

http://www.carforums.net/reviews/makes/pictures/opel09.jpg

Those headlights are horrible. Looks like bad Porsche 996 headlights. Mercedes, what have you done?

That is exactly what I said when we first saw the spy shots here!

I say half of people here are not telling the truth.

The new face-lifted front headlights are very sad indeed.

SL used to be my most favorite mercedes.
I will be missing the current style.




BTW, those new side air vents are simply beautiful.

Lol!!

Here's a ton more photos of this masterpiece Mercedes.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/mercedes-sl-class-future.html

Most of you wouldn't know a great car because you're driving you're old Mitsubishi Galant.

Most here wouldn't know a great car for a hole in the ground ;-)

Sounds like someone's grasping at straws...

wow, the front is just terrible

You're just not seeing the future.

It's OK.

WOW !!!!!! Its so ugly...front lights look so cheap. cross between a cls and an slk. I"ll stick with my 04 sl500 lemon.It may break down alot..but sure looks great.

That front is so ugly :(
The headrest ugly as well :(
That car looked fine why destroy its nice look?

Whats with the new hideous steering wheel designs from MB?

The acceleration numbers are correct. The darn thing weighs as much as the GL. Oh, I almost forgot, YAWN.

Mercedes must really be a fan of the European Opel designs. The new C-Class looks like a Vectra hands-down, and now this...

Mercedes' designs used to be so easy to like upon first glance. Now, you have to let them grow on you, which is a shame.

They have ruined what hands down has been the best looking car of the decade!

OMG!!!!! Ahhhhh!!! What have they done? I am huge Merc fan but let's be honest, the original design of the current generation SL was very elegant and timeless in many respects. The front end now looks like one of those "home projects" where the CLS front end was grafted onto the SL body. Don't even get me started on the head rests - they're ridiculously ugly. What a shame!!

Those headrest look like ET's head :3

0-60 in 4.7s with 525 hp? I hope thats a typo.

Thats really bad for a sportscar, or even a highend luxury car these days.

Another vote against the Asian looking headlights. Otherwise, pretty nice. This year's SL is gorgeous, though. I think the world lacks "gorgeous".

Agreed. Is this front end supposed to be an improvement??

I like the design overall - it's a winner. My main criticism is that MB makes their cars overly technical with unnecessary gizmos that negatively impact reliability.

I would delete the elctronically assisted toenail manicure and use the money saved to upgrade the base model engine. 0-60 for a car in this echelon should be in the low 5's even for the base engine. A Civic Si is faster than the base model.