Report: Is Mercedes-AMG working on a successor to the McLaren SLR?
Word from AutoBild is that Mercedes-AMG could be considering a successor to the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren super coupe, despite AMG’s boss, Tobias Moers, explicitly telling journalists that the company has no interest in building a supercar to compete against the likes of the Porsche 918 Spyder and the Ferrari LaFerrari.
A rumor did surface early last month of a potential mid-engined supercar being considered by AMG, but such a bit remains to be a rumor. And either way, it would still be an alternative to the rumored super coupe currently in discussion.
Nonetheless, AutoBild reportedly spoke to sources within the company where engineers are said to be contemplating over the course of action to take for a new halo car for the brand. Despite the arrival of the new AMG GT sports coupe, AMG remains to be without a halo car like it has in the past, similarly to the aforementioned SLR McLaren and more recently, the SLS AMG.
Should Mercedes-AMG however decide to build a super car of some sort, it’ll most likely be build using their latest Modular Sports Architecture platform currently destined to be first used with the next-generation SL-Class. This would mean a front-engined rear-wheel drive setup, and not a mid-engined one as rumored.
Propulsion would be provided by a supercharged V6, rather than AMG’s current twin-turbo 4.0L V8. Though the V6 wouldn’t be left to act alone as electric motors would be fitted to the front axles to power the front wheels, essentially making an all-wheel drive car with total power output hovering north of 650hp. Combine that with a lightweight chassis, active aerodynamic bodywork, and an anticipated selling price of around $260,000 with production capped at 3,000, this new super coupe could prove to be a formidable successor to the SLS and the SLR.
The other alternative, the mid-engined supercar, isn’t fully out of the question though as that could use a supercharged V8, similarly to the SLR, with an output close to 1,050hp, making it more of a Bugatti Veyron and Koenigsegg Agera R competitor, if anything. It would still receive assistance by two electric motors up front to provide all-wheel drive and of course, it’ll too sport an insane body with active ground effects and panels. This option however would boost the price insanely to well over one million euros per car with a much more limited production run of just 750 units in total.
All-in-all, it sounds Mercedes-AMG has some serious thinking to do as to which route to go in terms of their new halo car. And according to Moers, the decisions is even tougher since he noted AMG currently doesn’t have the engineering capacity to design and build such a car, while his predictions suggest the market wouldn’t be particularly accepting of an AMG model as hypercar brand.
Though talks with some very exclusive customers in special markets could change his mind and such discussions are supposedly scheduled to occur within the near future.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: AutoBild
