The Mercedes Sls Amg Owes Its Existence Partially To A Dodge Viper

So, Mercedes SLS, your DNA trial is back. It shows you person immoderate familial worldly from nan Dodge Viper, conscionable arsenic you'd thought. However, it's much analyzable than you being long-lost siblings. Yes, you stock immoderate ancestry thanks to your communal forebear, DaimlerChrysler. But we'd suspected that your akin proportions and agelong snouts were much than a coincidence, and our testing uncovered that deeper connection.

Now, we want to beryllium clear. Your structures are wholly different. The Viper uses a tubular alloy framework surrounded by fiberglass panels, while you, Mercedes SLS, characteristic an aluminum abstraction framework covered pinch aluminum assemblage panels, on pinch polyurethane bumpers and sill covers. The Viper has a frankly gargantuan pushrod V10 and a manual transmission, which is astir arsenic different arsenic it gets from your double-overhead cam V8 and dual-clutch automatic transaxle. Then location are your gullwing doors, a trait recovered successful zero Vipers.

Here's nan truth. You were calved from nan remnants of 14 Dodge Vipers, torn isolated by AMG's engineers to trial nan parts that would create you and each different Mercedes SLSs, including brakes, axles, and powerfulness trains. The Viper's tubular chassis made specified part-swapping child's play. Each of these Frankensteined Vipers, which nan AMG designers called "T cars," was taken to nan Nürburgring Nordschleife for instrumented testing. Later, location besides was testing successful different parts of nan world.

I dream this puts your mind astatine ease. You were ne'er meant to beryllium nan adjacent procreation of Dodge Viper — you were ever destined to beryllium your ain car. But you do beryllium a indebtedness of gratitude to nan Vipers sacrificed to springiness you life.

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If you followed car news successful mid-2010, you mightiness retrieve nan Edmunds blog Inside Line reporting that nan Mercedes SLS was expected to beryllium nan adjacent Dodge Viper. (Don't fuss looking for it; it's not up anymore, moreover connected nan Wayback Machine. However, it was wide referenced astatine nan time, pinch plentifulness of sum from outlets including Motor1, Motor Authority, Autoblog, and Newsday.)

AutoEvolution's Alex Oagana contacted Daimler AG (now conscionable Mercedes-Benz) and Chrysler successful June 2010 to inquire astir nan rumor. It turns retired it's half true: The SLS isn't really a Mercedes! In a twist ending that deserves a "dun dun DUNNNN," nan SLS is an original merchandise of Aufrecht Melcher Grossaspach. Better known arsenic "AMG."

Is this splitting hairs since Mercedes signed a practice statement pinch AMG successful 1990, and has owned it since 1999? No, it seems basal because AMG operates successful galore ways for illustration its ain entity. It has its ain CEO, factories, and engineers. According to nan creation timeline described connected Mercedes-Market, nan genesis of nan SLS began successful 2005 pinch AMG's then-CEO Volker Mornhinweg, and it wasn't to build a sports car for Dodge. Rather, he wanted AMG to build its ain car from nan crushed up. It's conscionable that nan crushed had a batch of Dodge Vipers planted successful it.

In December 2006, Mornhinweg presented his thought to nan Daimler executive board. Yeah, announcement that's not "DaimlerChrysler executive board," because by 2006, Chrysler was persona non grata to Daimler acknowledgment to a nonaccomplishment of $1.5 billion. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler's president thought nan AMG sports car looked awesome. It was arsenic bully arsenic greenlit.

There's astir apt not a azygous reality successful nan multiverse wherever Daimler was going to o.k. a Dodge Viper astatine nan extremity of 2006. It would only beryllium a fewer much months until May 2007, erstwhile Daimler chucked Chrysler retired a model onto nan heads of Cerberus Capital Management. If you deliberation nan "Ask Dr. Z" feline was going to put a Dodge badge connected AMG's finest, I person a span successful Brooklyn to waste to you. 

But what astir nan "Death Valley trial mules" and nan aluminum chassis Dodge supposedly developed for nan Viper? Right, Mercedes reported AMG was successful nan godforsaken testing nan engine, transmission, aerial conditioning, cooling system, and substance strategy successful 2008. Motor Authority reported that twelvemonth that it was a prototype wearing "mock Dodge Viper panels."

As for nan chassis, though, nan only original root claming Dodge developed an aluminum Viper framework is that 1 Inside Line blog, and location are nary "whistleblower" reports from angry Dodge engineers claiming DaimlerChrysler stole their advancement connected a caller Viper. The wheelbases of nan then-current Viper and nan photographed trial mules are different, too, and unless you judge Daimler was readying connected pumping a boatload of rate into wholly redesigning nan Viper wrong and out, that was nary Viper aliases early Viper successful Death Valley. Plus, if Chrysler wanted an aluminum frame, why did nan Dodge Viper spell to its sedate successful 2017 pinch a alloy one?

The Dodge Viper and Mercedes-AMG SLS are some superb cars, arsenic different arsenic lightning and lightning bugs. One (well, 14) had to beryllium ripped isolated to create nan other, but each has its ain legacy. Daimler whitethorn person not treated Chrysler for illustration an equal, but it didn't bargain a next-gen Viper and slap SLS badges connected it.