# Car Forums > Automotive News >  2022 sl63

## Xtrema



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## ThePenIsMightier

They can stop calling them "63" any decade now. Their nomenclature is worse than Porsche Taycan Turbo.

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## Buster

that platform is going to make a great SL, and a really generic AMG GT.

Unfortunate.

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## dirtsniffer

that was an amg promo video? jesus christ it almost put me to sleep. How old is the average amg buyer now? 87?

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## ThePenIsMightier

> that was an amg promo video? jesus christ it almost put me to sleep. How old is the average amg buyer now? 87?



Maybe they're....
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63

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## rage2

> that was an amg promo video? jesus christ it almost put me to sleep. How old is the average amg buyer now? 87?



That’s just stock footage for the press.

V8 only at launch, 580hp SL63 and the 480hp SL55. The SL63 E Performance hybrid is up next with 830hp. 

Bolds well for the next E63 keeping the V8.

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## Buster

> that was an amg promo video? jesus christ it almost put me to sleep. How old is the average amg buyer now? 87?



AMG has a couple of cool and exciting cars left in its line-up. In a couple of years it will be down to something like 1 or 2.

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## killramos

Woman in a white pantsuit is definitely the correct target audience here

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## bjstare

> that platform is going to make a great SL, and a really generic AMG GT.
> 
> Unfortunate.



That's exactly what I thought... but why unfortunate? Cause the GT will no longer be as special?

I think this thing is amazing. And I may wear a white pantsuit now and again, but I am no woman.

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## rage2

> That's exactly what I thought... but why unfortunate? Cause the GT will no longer be as special?
> 
> I think this thing is amazing. And I may wear a white pantsuit now and again, but I am no woman.



He thinks that extending the SLS/AMG GT platform to the SL, which has a different comfort/performance balance, will water down the GT. The big change is the loss of the DCT transmission, switching to the MCT (automatic with wet clutch) in the SL, losing the transaxle, which may carry over to the AMG GT.

There are so many variables that define the driving experience so I think he's wrong. I mean look at the GT 4 door, that's derived from the E wagon platform, and feels more like an AMG GT than an E63. For all we know, nothing changes in the next GT and it's the same mid front engine rear transaxle layout.

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## npham

Saw this released today and thought it would be a perfect Rage2 car with his new found love of verts.

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## Buster

> He thinks that extending the SLS/AMG GT platform to the SL, which has a different comfort/performance balance, will water down the GT. The big change is the loss of the DCT transmission, switching to the MCT (automatic with wet clutch) in the SL, losing the transaxle, which may carry over to the AMG GT.
> 
> There are so many variables that define the driving experience so I think he's wrong. I mean look at the GT 4 door, that's derived from the E wagon platform, and feels more like an AMG GT than an E63. For all we know, nothing changes in the next GT and it's the same mid front engine rear transaxle layout.



I think AMG is making the smart choice, as this will have a much broader appeal. The GT launch was a disaster because a bunch of SL buyers bought them not realizing it was an actual sports car. This is marketing vs. engineering, with the marketing people winning.

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## rage2

> Saw this released today and thought it would be a perfect Rage2 car with his new found love of verts.



Not newfound, I only drove verts till kids came along. 

But ya, 830hp hybrid SL, AWD, great balance of comfort and performance? Definitely checks all the boxes for a great DD. If I could afford it.

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## Buster

Looks like an embargo lifted and now we'll get a flood of samey youtubers all jizzing themselves over the car.

It looks fantastic. A million times better than the old SL.

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## killramos

I’ll be sad to see the hardtop go

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## rage2

> I’ll be sad to see the hardtop go



Soft tops have come a long way. Im surprised how good mine is.

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## Buster

> I’ll be sad to see the hardtop go



Hard tops are kinda 2003

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## ExtraSlow

2003 was awesome tho.

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## killramos

> Soft tops have come a long way. Im surprised how good mine is.



It’s an aesthetic for me. Hard top convertibles near universally look decent top up.

Soft tops, rarely look good.

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## Buster

> It’s an aesthetic for me. Hard top convertibles near universally look decent top up.
> 
> Soft tops, rarely look good.



you dont buy convertibles for how they look with the top up. for the most part, even hard tops proportions dont work.

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## shakalaka

> It’s an aesthetic for me. Hard top convertibles near universally look decent top up.
> 
> Soft tops, rarely look good.



Yup I concur with that. Main reason I've never really looked at convertibles too seriously. Would be nice to have a top down when the weather is nice or some shit, but for 3-4 days out of year, I can't stand looking at the wonky looks of a soft top convertible.

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## nismodrifter

+1 for hard top crew. A must for an SL IMO. 

Neighbor has an SL55 AMG with p030 performance pack. Absolutely love looking at the car, and it's top is always up because west coast life in winter time.

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## Buster

rage is going to bant you all for heresy

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## bjstare

Soft tops are 100% the way to go for convertibles. They're not loud like they used to be (at least not on >$100k cars where they have a dozen layers), and when you put the top down they don't take up 100% of the trunk like hard tops do. I also prefer the look, but that's obviously subjective.

Hard top convertibles are the worst of both worlds.

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## ThePenIsMightier

It's important to consider all of the practicality components when selecting a style of convertible...
In Alberta.

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## killramos

> Soft tops are 100% the way to go for convertibles. They're not loud like they used to be (at least not on >$100k cars where they have a dozen layers), and when you put the top down they don't take up 100% of the trunk like hard tops do. I also prefer the look, but that's obviously subjective.
> 
> Hard top convertibles are the worst of both worlds.



I would consider buying a hard top convertible here in Calgary. Id be very hard pressed to consider buying a soft top.

I think soft tops look like ass. And here in Calgary they are up 80%+ of the time ( even if you are a crazy air scarf aficionado like rage ).

The AMG GT Coupe is more my cup of tea anyway.

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## bjstare

> I would consider buying a hard top convertible here in Calgary. I’d be very hard pressed to consider buying a soft top.
> 
> I think soft tops look like ass. And here in Calgary they are up 80%+ of the time ( even if you are a crazy air scarf aficionado like rage ).
> 
> The AMG GT Coupe is more my cup of tea anyway.



I think your outlook is heavily biased by the fact that you simply don't like convertibles, not going to try and talk you out of that. I think you are significantly underestimating how much the top can be comfortably down. I had the top down on my S2k at least 50% of my time behind the wheel. Basically anything over 5deg and not raining, which is a lot of the spring/summer/fall in our city. Airscarf makes your operating envelope even bigger.

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## ExtraSlow

Biases are real.

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## rage2

I used to be hard top only because of winter usage. Soft tops today match hard tops easily. My car seals completely tight even in -30, and is as quiet as my coupe. I actually wanted it louder because the 53 exhaust isn’t as loud as the 63s. Really with the top up I can’t find any difference inside compared to the coupe from keeping temps in, to sounds while driving. Literally back to back comparison owning both cars. 

I will agree that the coupe looks a hell of a lot better than the cabriolet with the top up. The E53 coupe has the perfect side profile. That said, how it looks is pretty low on my list of priorities, so I’m ok with it. Even if it was higher up, the huge # of advantages with a cabriolet easily outweighs that, unless what others think how your car looks bothers you.

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## riander5

> Its an aesthetic for me. Hard top convertibles near universally look decent top up.
> 
> Soft tops, rarely look good.



Hmm I kind of disagree here. One thing I hate about hard top convertibles (most of them) is the rear / trunk always looks like shit. It's always super flat and ruins any lines the car has. But soft tops with tops up also look like shit.

Moral of the story - Always have the top down

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## rage2

> I think your outlook is heavily biased by the fact that you simply don't like convertibles, not going to try and talk you out of that. I think you are significantly underestimating how much the top can be comfortably down. I had the top down on my S2k at least 50% of my time behind the wheel. Basically anything over 5deg and not raining, which is a lot of the spring/summer/fall in our city. Airscarf makes your operating envelope even bigger.



I drove to and from cochrane, and lapped the entire ring road yesterday top down. -5C at highway speeds. Ridiculous how comfortable it was in the car, didn’t even wear a jacket. Must’ve looked stupid with all the windows up and all the wind deflectors raised haha. It wasn’t till about 160 or so before I felt some cold air hitting me.

I’ll bet I could do it comfortably in -20C if I kept it under 100.

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## bjstare

> I drove to and from cochrane, and lapped the entire ring road yesterday top down. -5C at highway speeds. Ridiculous how comfortable it was in the car, didn’t even wear a jacket. Must’ve looked stupid with all the windows up and all the wind deflectors raised haha. It wasn’t till about 160 or so before I felt some cold air hitting me.
> 
> I’ll bet I could do it comfortably in -20C if I kept it under 100.



But yOU neVEr haVE THe toP DoWN In cALGary!!

- 
@killramos
, probably

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## killramos

I’m going to start following rage around to call bullshit

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## JRSC00LUDE

Convertibles are the worst.

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## rage2

> I’m going to start following rage around to call bullshit



Had to hit falconridge yesterday morning with the new car. Top down.

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## XylathaneGTR

It sounds like there are drastic differences in "top down all the time" experiences between old and new cars (and USDM vs. ze germans?). In 2014 I rented a mustang 'vert while in Dallas, and had the top-down on the interstate in March (was about 10 deg C during the morning) and it was a miserable experience for all involved. Butt-load of air movement, especially for the rear passengers (even I was cold up front). Similarly, I had a Jeep rental in 2015 and drove to Edmonton in september (~15C in the afternoon) with the roof panels removed. Had to pull over halfway and had to reinstall the roof panels because I was freezing, with the heat on full sitting as closed to the dash as I could.

These experiences placed me firmly in the "top up 80% of the time" camp... but I haven't driven a new vert in quite some time.

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## Buster

nothing says drug dealer like a blacked out merc in falconridge.

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## benyl

> nothing says drug dealer like a blacked out merc in falconridge.



Apparently that applies in Arbour Lake too.

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## rage2

> It sounds like there are drastic differences in "top down all the time" experiences between old and new cars (and USDM vs. ze germans?). In 2014 I rented a mustang 'vert while in Dallas, and had the top-down on the interstate in March (was about 10 deg C during the morning) and it was a miserable experience for all involved. Butt-load of air movement, especially for the rear passengers (even I was cold up front). Similarly, I had a Jeep rental in 2015 and drove to Edmonton in september (~15C in the afternoon) with the roof panels removed. Had to pull over halfway and had to reinstall the roof panels because I was freezing, with the heat on full sitting as closed to the dash as I could.
> 
> These experiences placed me firmly in the "top up 80% of the time" camp... but I haven't driven a new vert in quite some time.



I can tell you I couldn’t do it with my e46 m3. It’s a huge difference in the e53. I’m surprised at how much more I can use it with the top down when only front passengers were in the car. 

That said, rear passengers are a different game. Definitely windier than the front seats. Kids would complain unless it’s warmer than 10C, and over 120kmh it was too windy regardless of temps.

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## nismodrifter

Relevant:
https://funker530.com/video/ukrainia...-bmw-drop-top/

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## shakalaka

@rage2
 's e53 with the color of the car and the top, I actually don't mind the side profile look of it. For the most part it's still a good looking vert. But definitely an exception being a soft top.

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## rage2

> @rage2
>  's e53 with the color of the car and the top, I actually don't mind the side profile look of it. For the most part it's still a good looking vert. But definitely an exception being a soft top.



Funny you mention this. For soft top cars, you want a contrasting top color to distract from the crappy lines of the soft top. I originally wanted to order the car in classic white with red top, but didn’t want to deal with yellowing 3M that’s really apparent in white cars after a few years (I’m hoping to keep this one longer). With black car again, none of the top colors other than black really makes sense. I was debating between glossy or satin wrap on the car, was really just a coin toss, but one of the reasons for satin was a subtle contrast to the top color. 

The side profile still pales in comparison to the coupe.

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## bjstare

I'm a big fan of the blue with blue soft top. Someone at my golf course has a C63 in this spec and it's awesome.

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## Neil4Speed

> +1 for hard top crew. A must for an SL IMO. 
> 
> Neighbor has an SL55 AMG with p030 performance pack. Absolutely love looking at the car, and it's top is always up because west coast life in winter time.



Absolutely Stunning - That car is a future classic and will hold its value well. 

I still think the previous-gen looked better, very sleek and long.

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## Team_Mclaren

FUCK I want a R230 so bad

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## rage2

> FUCK I want a R230 so bad



I hated how the r230 drove. Archaic transmission, horrible handling. It was an era of straight line focus for amgs. The facelift was better, but the NA 63 engine felt slower than the 55 supercharged v8. They fixed a lot of it with the r231 but it just wasn’t as good looking. For such a heavy car the r231 actually surprised me in handling and nimbleness on the track.

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## bjstare

> I hated how the r230 drove. Archaic transmission, horrible handling. It was an era of straight line focus for amgs. The facelift was better, but the NA 63 engine felt slower than the 55 supercharged v8. They fixed a lot of it with the r231 but it just wasn’t as good looking. For such a heavy car the r231 actually surprised me in handling and nimbleness on the track.



I think the SL55 is going to be a collector car that'll retain value/appreciate well. I've read more than one journalist recently talk about how they drove it again and comment on how awesome it is.

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## Team_Mclaren

> I hated how the r230 drove. Archaic transmission, horrible handling. It was an era of straight line focus for amgs. The facelift was better, but the NA 63 engine felt slower than the 55 supercharged v8. They fixed a lot of it with the r231 but it just wasn’t as good looking. For such a heavy car the r231 actually surprised me in handling and nimbleness on the track.



That's perfect for me. Handling definitely isnt something I really give a shit about in a huge AMG boat. And I cant fucking drive worth shit.  :ROFL!:  :ROFL!: 
R231 isnt very good looking and the R129 looks too old.

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## redline

> I think the SL55 is going to be a collector car that'll retain value/appreciate well. I've read more than one journalist recently talk about how they drove it again and comment on how awesome it is.



Not even close enough too limited production enough to hold value let alone appreciate … you sound like e9x m3 owners that like their cars will go up in value … lol

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## ThePenIsMightier

> Not even close enough too limited production enough to hold value let alone appreciate  you sound like e9x m3 owners that like their cars will go up in value  lol



Not sure if srs.....

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## bjstare

> Not even close enough too limited production enough to hold value let alone appreciate … you sound like e9x m3 owners that like their cars will go up in value … lol



Those cars have already started to go up in value  :dunno: 

Production numbers are one thing, but remaining clean examples are another. Most old AMGs wind up going to people who can't afford to (/don't want to spend the money to) maintain them and they self destruct. The low mile, well maintained ones fill a completely different niche, and there aren't many of those.

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## killramos

There is a miled up 2012 E92 sitting in the bmw showroom right now for over $70grand.

These were 40-50k a couple years ago.

As per usual redline has no idea what hes talking about.

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## benyl

I'm hoping the ugliness of the R231 will drive down prices. Loved driving that car on the track.

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## rage2

> I'm hoping the ugliness of the R231 will drive down prices. Loved driving that car on the track.



This haha. I remember both of us grinning after driving it because it was so unexpected.

Plus it had the 5.5TT 63 engine which is the best 63 engine imo.

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