Why mess with a good thing?

The new SLS AMG Roadster. Photo Credit Top Gear.

The Mercedes SLS AMG is an incredible car.

Upon first glance you can only revel in the beauty of its shape. From the long hood with the gaping front grill, to the gull-wing doors, everything on this car seems to look good.

The you consider the performance. It's fast. Very fast.

0-60 in 3.8 seconds, according to the Mercedes website, and on to a top speed of 197 mph (317 kmph) thanks to a 6.2L V8 creating 563 horsepower.

To buy an SLS AMG in Canada you would have to spend a hefty sum: $198,000.

So, to sum up, it's fast, expensive and absolutely stunning to look at.

Now, what about the convertible version?



Well, it's not out yet, but it will be fast, more expensive (because convertibles always are) and will probably still look pretty dashing.

Both the coupe and convertible versions were being worked on at the same time (full press release), so the rigid aluminium frame on the coupe version also goes to the roadster, which helps to deal with a problem that can be associated with drop-tops: floppiness. Mercedes has also added support struts to the cross member behind the dashboard, as well as stiffening the rear axle to help with handling.

As for the roof, it is made out of made out of three-layer fabric which can be opened and closed at up to 50 kmph (31 mph).

The reason people buy convertibles is because then they get miles upon miles of head room, and so they can feel the wind flow through their thinning hair, which is all well-and-good when the sun is out, but when it starts to rain, the roof has to go back up. So is the trade off worth it then?

In a lot of cases, yeah. The thing is, the SLS AMG looked so good as a coupe, so I'd have to say no.

The hardtop version of the SLS AMG. Photo credit autoblog.com.

With the convertible version, the gull-wing doors are gone because they can't attach to the canvas roof. That's really too bad because they gave the car it's image. They were the little piece that was different from most other cars out there.

People seem to always be clambering for convertible versions of everything, but in some cases, like this one, you lose a couple of the aspects of what makes that car special.

For more pictures of the SLS AMG Roadster, click here.