2023 Mercedes-AMG SL 43 Cuts The Price But Keeps Roadster Style
The newest Mercedes-AMG SL roadster is here with the SL 43. It joins the existing AMGs, the SL 55 and SL 63. As the brand's trio of rowdy race-ready roadsters. The most important part of the SL 43 is its powerplant. It gets down the road with the help of a 2-liter four-cylinder engine. But it's no average four-banger as it makes use of the new Mercedes electric turbocharger that has been debuting in some of the automaker's other recent AMG offerings. The electric turbocharger mitigates the dreaded "turbo-lag" by using an electric motor to initially spool up, and exhaust gases when it reaches greater speeds, topping out at 170,000 rpm.
Mercedes-AMG
All this translates to 375 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. The SL 43 can complete the eternally important zero to 60 miles per hour sprint in 4.8 seconds and can reach 170 miles per hour before electronic limiters kick in. All of the power is delivered through AMG's nine-speed multi-clutch transmission that the brand has named "AMG Speedshift." The nomenclature does not seem to disappoint.
Small engine, big performance
Aesthetically, the SL 43 varies from its beefier SL 55 and SL 63 brothers in that it has a unique grille and rear trunk lid, according to Mercedes. That means you won't have trouble telling the models apart, especially if the SL 43 is finished in the absolutely wild blue color from the press photos.
The interior is furnished by the big ol' tablet one would expect inside any new car, but it also features traditional round gauges (with a digital display) behind the steering wheel. Mercedes calls this a "hyper-analog display."
Mercedes
AMG has tuned the chassis to within an inch of its life. The body itself weighs only 595 pounds without the doors, trunk, or hood. And given the fact that it's a convertible and lacks a conventional roof, structural rigidity was of utmost importance. Speaking of the convertible top, the rag top will go up and down in roughly 15 seconds at up to 37 miles per hour. So that's a nice touch. 19-inch wheels are standard on the SL 43 as are six-piston front brakes, in case you find yourself stopping particularly violently.
The price starts at a very Mercedes-AMG like $109,900 and will arrive this summer in the United States, according to a press release. The price is comparatively a bargain when pitted against the $137,400 SL 55 and the $178,100 SL 63.