SLS F1 Safety Car

AMG SLS wings down

When the 2010 F1 season kicks off in Bahrain early March some of the worlds most impressive cars will be on display, but threatening to steal the show is AMG’s all-new halo car, the SLS gullwing. The new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Official F1™ Safety Car replaces the already very special SL 63 AMG.

Sadly the SLS won’t be taking up medical duty as well, the by comparison boring C 63 AMG Estate still has that job. I guess one really does need a back seat of sorts for a medical car so the SLS maybe wouldn’t be ideal, but F1 drivers are so small I’m sure the FIA could’ve made a plan.

AMG SLS Gullwings up

It really is great to see Mercedes jumping into the worlds most glamorous and expensive motorsport series feet first, 2010 will after all see a Mercedes team, all the official FIA vehicles and Mercedes power bolted into several cars besides their own team.

If you’ve been living under a rock and are completely unaware of just why the SLS has the credentials to be motorsport’s premier pace car I’ll happily oblige. The SLS has a 6.3L V8 but not the standard AMG 63 that they put into just about every AMG out there. This motor produces 420kW/571hp and 650Nm of torque, enough for the SLS to explode from 0 to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds. The SLS truly is an awesome vehicle, particularly with it’s impressive power, but really the only thing people will talk about is the gullwings.

F1 Safety Driver Bernd Mayländer