DOSSIER: MERCEDES AMG SL63

THE THE PROUD NAME PLATE IS BACK WITH A RENEWED FOCUS. BUT IS THAT FOCUS WHAT THE SL IS ALL ABOUT?

SOME PERFORMERS EARN applause simply by appearing onstage-before speaking a single line, singing a single note, or dancing a single step. Some cops can disarm a suspect with the right scowl without reaching for a gun or issuing a threat. And there are cars that take over a road with sheer charisma. Most Duesenbergs and some Rolls-Royces. A lot of Ferraris. The Lamborghini Countach. And often, but not always, the Mercedes SL.

It's called presence, that ability to instantly grab attention, direct it, and control it. The challenge for the new 2022 Mercedes-AMG SL63 isn't to be quick, fast, or even luxurious. It's to establish itself and stake out its own relevance. To create its own reality, an alloy of engineering, elegance, and exclusivity. Some arrogance is okay. Some utility would be nice too. Being ignored? Not acceptable.

The temptation with every new SL is to drill down into its tech details, as if some demon tweak gizmo aboard guarantees reverence. But tech, even in the original 1954 production 300SL Gullwing coupe, was always in the service of presence.

“No exhibition-hall dream, the 300SL with its fabulous 240 hp fuel injection engine and dramatically functional body is here,” asserted an ad Mercedes ran for the Gullwing back in 1954.

"Hand-finished details give the 300SL traditional Mercedes-Benz elegance-in a car that breaks with all traditions." That sentence contradicts itself, yet nicely summarizes the Gullwing's appeal. Incidentally, in the ad it's wearing wide whitewalls and spinner hubcaps. Because it was 1954.

Because it's 2022, the R232-generation SL63 hunkers over big 21-inch wheels inside 275/35 tires in front and 305/30s in back. The body, a bit of a throwback to the Gullwing (and its roadster brother), has rounded shapes at every corner and a rump that droops down in back. From some angles, the tail even looks like a Porsche 911. Which is weird.