First Drive Review
Not particularly beautiful but extremely rare and exotic, carbonado is an incredibly hard stone also known as black diamond. It is found exclusively in Brazil and Central Africa, and yet the traces of hydrogen contained within carbonado suggest that it wasn’t even formed on this planet. As a best guess, scientists posit black diamonds were created billions of years ago by an exploding star.
A Black Series car, on the other hand, is of this earth. Barely. One is created when Mercedes’ in-house AMG performance shop tires of building mere 500-plus-hp commuters and pumps out something that packs the fury and power of a supernova. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series is the fifth car to earn the badge. The Europe-only SLK55 AMG Black Series of 2006 was the first and was followed by a CLK63, an SL65, and a C63 that were all available here. With an estimated price of $250,000 and fewer than 200 making their way to the United States, the SLS Black is the most expensive and most exclusive Mercedes of the moment. And as the extra-fortified version of the only car fully designed within AMG, this SLS is as raw as a Mercedes gets—the Black Series treatment has turned Mercedes’ crown jewel into something as special as a black diamond.
Even Its Heart Is Black
The Black’s gem of an engine is derived from the SLS AMG GT’s naturally aspirated and aurally gifted 6.2-liter V-8. An additional 39 horsepower and a shift in the power peak by 600 revs translate to a meaty 622 horsepower at 7400 rpm. (The base car hits redline at 7200 rpm, but that mark has been bumped to 8000 rpm here.) Extracted with shorter intake runners, revised valve timing, and optimized ignition timing that increases peak cylinder pressure, the extra power requires wider main bearings, stronger connecting-rod bolts, forged hardware, and a higher-pressure oiling system. The trade-off is a slight loss of low-end torque; max twist is now 468 lb-ft at 5500 rpm rather than 479 lb-ft at 4750 rpm. You won’t miss it, though, because AMG shortened the final-drive ratio from 3.67:1 to 4.44:1.
To cut 154 pounds of mass, AMG dressed the SLS’s aluminum space frame with its own mix of exotic materials. The hood, the rear panel behind the seats, the underbody brace, the torque tube, and the driveshaft are carbon fiber. A lithium-ion starter battery saves 18 pounds, the titanium exhaust removes another 29—but adds even more noise—and standard carbon-ceramic brakes shed 35 pounds. You can delete the standard COMAND navigation and infotainment system to save a few more pounds. Spec the Aerodynamic package to gain canards for the front fascia; a huge, adjustable carbon-fiber wing for the trunklid; and aesthetic harmony with the SLS AMG GT3 race car.
Like a Punch to, Well, Everywhere
Driving the SLS Black Series is a physical experience. It isn’t as criminally violent to drive as the Lamborghini Aventador, but the experience is still every bit as aggressive as a game of tag with Ray Lewis. To shorten the car’s reaction times to inputs, AMG engineers tightened up everything between the road and the driver. The throttle pedal is as smooth and gentle as firing a nail gun. The two-stage dampers have a tauter base setting, the bushings are 50 percent stiffer up front and 42 percent stiffer in back, and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires are standard. There’s even a new damper mounted to the front of the engine to restrict its motion under cornering. Stability is helped by tracks that have been widened by nearly an inch front and rear, and the reprogrammed seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is positioned slightly closer to the tarmac than the SLS GT’s.
The front end offers tenacious grip, and the steering system is now rigid enough to communicate when the front tires start to scrub. That’s a rare occasion, though, because the Black’s new electronically controlled limited-slip differential invites easy rotation under power. In its narrow focus, raw manners, and chassis neutrality, the SLS AMG Black Series abandons all references to every other car wearing the three-pointed star. It might well be the ultimate anti-Mercedes, yet made by Daimler itself.
Black diamonds are typically too hard to be cut or polished for jewelry, just as an SLS AMG Black Series is too rough for outings to the country club. It’s too stiff for underfunded roads and is likely too anxious to tolerate traffic, lane markers, and speed limits. Frankly, we find it endearing that Mercedes-Benz has built a car so capable on the track that it’s incompatible with roads. Beautiful, indeed.
