Does This Trademark Mean Mercedes-Benz Is Working On A New SLR?

Could Mercedes-Benz be considering a successor to the SLR supercar? It’s possible following the revelation that the automaker recently filed a patent for the name.

A law firm out of New York filed an application on behalf of Daimler to protect the ‘SLR’ name on March 1 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent is for “land vehicles and structural parts thereof.”

As with any trademark of this kind, it’s impossible to definitively conclude what Daimler intends on using the ‘SLR’ name for. While it possible that it has trademarked it for use in a future product, perhaps in the successor to the Mercedes-AMG GT, it is also possible the name was simply trademarked to protect it and ensure no other companies run off with it.

A new supercar to join the Mercedes-AMG One?

Mercedes-Benz famously used the SLR name for its high-performance grand tourer built between 2003 and 2009 and co-developed with McLaren. The vehicle served as a friendlier and more spacious alternative to the Porsche Carrera GT and was powered by a brutish 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine pumping out 617 hp and 575 lb-ft (779 Nm) of torque. In typical AMG fashion, all of that power was sent to the rear wheels.

There’s no doubt that the SLR name is one of the most evocative in the automaker’s long and rich history and using it for a new model could please many enthusiasts.

The Mercedes-AMG family is expected to slowly adopt hybridization over the coming years, meaning any future supercar models from the company will be hybrids likely retaining the firm’s current 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8.