Merc lifts wraps from SLS AMG Roadster 30 | 05 | 2011

MERCEDES HAS lifted the wraps from its new £180,000 soft-top version of the SLS AMG. Due for an official launch at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, Scottish dealers will be taking orders — if you're interested — for the AMG Roadster from this month. First production slots for right-hand-drive cars are available in November.

Designed from the start a a soft-top and well as a coupe, the sportscar is a neat conversion and looks mightily impressive with its new frameless doors with conventional hinges, which have been designed to replace the exotic gullwing design of the coupé.

Weight has also been kept to a minimum, simply because again SLS’s lightweight alloy structure was designed with an open-top body structure in mind.

The Roadster, by dint of its roof and its hydraulic motors, is heavier than the coupé, but only by a modest 40kg. As a result, it's a pacy performer; its 563bhp 6.2-litre V8 propels the soft-top from standstill to 62mph in just 3.8sec and accelerates on to a top speed just short of 200mph.

Cleverly, the three-layer roof — featuring magnesium, alloy and steel in its frame construction, and a glass rear window — can be opened on-the-move at up to 30mph, and takes 11sec to open.

Despite folding into a storage area behind the driver and passenger, boot volume only drops by three litres, to 173.

CLICK HERE to see more photos of the SLS AMG Roadster

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Craig James