If you asked us to categorize the new SLS AMG Black Series, we’d have a hard time fitting the car into a single segment. Its on-track behavior clearly makes it a sports car, yet its long wheelbase and refined mannerisms (even in Black Series trim) don’t exclude it from the Grand Touring category. With the electro-nannies turned off, however, it shreds tires and wags its tail with the best of the muscle car class.
To build the SLS AMG Black Series, Mercedes-Benz (and AMG) begin with an already-fast SLS AMG GT. The car gets a bump in output to 631 horsepower (impressive from a naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V-8), a wider track, a stiffer suspension, stickier tires and aerodynamics specifically designed to reduce lift at speed. Next comes the crash diet, which shaves 70 kilograms (154 pounds) off the standard SLS AMG, via the use of things like a titanium exhaust, a carbon fiber driveshaft, a lithium-ion battery and a carbon fiber hood.
Chris Harris is clearly smitten with the 230,000 pound (about $350,000) hoon-mobile, calling it “flipping excellent” on the track. And therein lies the problem: since only 350 will be built, with each selling for an astronomical price, few will ever turn a wheel in anger on the world’s premier tracks. In fact, our guess is that the vast majority will be purchased for investment purposes, secreted away in a climate-controlled garage to avoid depreciation.
Also, don’t forget that you can get discounted new car pricing with a free quote through qualified local dealer partners.
Based on Harris’ antics behind the wheel, there’s something criminal about that. What’s the point in engineering and building a car that’s so rewarding to drive, when the vast majority of owners will never drive the car as its engineers intended?
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
