The latest comparison test put together by Motor Trend, between the Mercedes-BenzSLS AMG Black Series (priced from $275,000) and the much cheaper at $102,000 SRT Viper, perfectly illustrates that smooth is much faster around a racetrack.
You see, while the American sports car may be lighter and more powerful, it can’t match the German car’s planted chassis feel, smoothness and virtually-instant gear changes. This makes sense on the road, because you can drive quickly, consistently and safely in the SLS, whereas the Viper just looks a lot more tail-happy and violent.
It is probably more fun though, especially since it has a manual gearbox that makes any car more engaging – you make less progress, but it feels like harder work, and let’s not forget that it costs almost a third of the price of the SLS Black Series…
However, if you have the money to buy the SLS, you will not be disappointed, because it offers a different experience. Unlike other Black Series models from the Three Pointed Star, it is not only a stiffer, sharper and faster variant of an existing AMG, but in this case, it also benefits from the improvements brought to the car since its launch. If this had been the Black version of the first SLS AMGs to come about, it may not have been so sorted.
Scroll down and let MT reviewer Johnny Lieberman explain the point better, by watching the video below the jump.
By Andrei Nedelea
VIDEO