There's a lot to mention, but one of the highlights is the aluminum bodywork, which significantly reduces weight and has a positive effect on both agility and handling as well as fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
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For starters, the new SL, code-named R321, is the first mass-production Mercedes car built almost entirely from aluminum, with the same material used for the multi-link front and rear suspensions. As a result, its weight has been reduced by up to 308 pounds (140 kg) compared to its predecessor.
Using aluminum has not only reduced weight, but also increased agility providing sportier handling characteristics.
Aside from the obvious when it comes to the boxier styling language, which is closely modeled after the smaller SLK, what we now about the new SL is that it is the first mainstream Mercedes model to feature an almost exclusively aluminum construction that make it some 140kg (308 pounds) lighter than the car it replaces.
The 2013 SL keeps the current model's folding top with Mercedes-Benz's Magic Sky Control roof with a glass structure being offered as an option.
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However, if these leaked scanned images of the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL brochure turn out to be true – and from what we can tell, they seem genuine, you can get your first gander at Stuttgart new roadster model in the gallery after the jump.
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“There are some extremely interesting cars on offer which could be the ultimate Christmas present,” said Managing Director of COYS, Chris Routledge. “The classic car market is one that is still buoyant and many people are looking at cars as an investment that is also fun.”
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Over the past year, we scooped the 2013 SL several times and even published photos of its body-in-white that recently made their way onto the web. But now, the Stuttgart-based carmaker has come out in the open, officially revealing a batch of photos and info on its new roadster that will be unveiled before the end of the year.
Though Mercedes doesn’t actually show us the finished product, the company gives us new photos shot during the development phase and more importantly, a detailed insight on some of the new SL’s novel features.
For the first time, the new SL is constructed almost entirely (89%) from aluminum, with the exception of high-strength steel integrated in the A-pillars and the (even lighter than aluminum) magnesium in the rear panel.
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Naturally, as we're nearing closer to its debut that will take place at next year's Detroit Auto Show in January, more information is coming out. Earlier this week, German magazine Auto Motor und Sport published a set of what appear to be official pictures of the next SL's body-in-white, along with some very interesting details.
The images suggest that the all-new luxury roadster will retain the familiar SL silhouette while adopting styling cues from other Mercedes models such as the boxy nose that is becoming the brand’s new “face” and the SLK’s “Magic Sky Control” retractable rigid roof.
