In some way we’re already midway by means of 2024, and the automotive world is chugging alongside in the direction of electrification. Just about each automaker gives a number of totally electrical and hybrid fashions at this level, however there’s a definite lack of plug-in variations of 1 explicit physique model: Convertibles. Other than just a few mid-engine supercars, nearly no manufacturers will promote you a convertible with something past a easy 48-volt hybrid system. Mercedes is altering that with the 2025 Mercedes-AMG SL63 S E Efficiency, a plug-in-hybrid roadster with an extended title and the efficiency to again it up.
Full disclosure: Mercedes flew me to Stuttgart, Germany to spend just a few days driving the GT63 and SL63 PHEVs and using alongside within the GT63 Professional. We stayed at some very good resorts, and Mercedes put me up in a lodge in Amsterdam for 2 nights when the Crowdstrike outage canceled my flight house.
Beneath the pores and skin the SL63 S E Efficiency is principally similar to the GT63 S E Efficiency. (For an much more in-depth tackle this powertrain, learn that assessment.) It pairs a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine over the entrance axle with an electrical motor and battery pack mounted on the rear axle. By itself the engine makes 603 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque, 26 hp and 37 lb-ft greater than the usual SL63’s V8. The electrical motor places out 201 hp and 236 lb-ft, with juice offered by the 6.1-kWh battery (of which 4.8 kWh is usable), and the motor can act immediately on the driveshaft to energy all 4 wheels. That 400-volt battery has a direct-cooling system that includes liquid that flows round the entire cells to chill them individually, so the pack is at all times at optimum temperature.
Add up the entire powertrain’s elements and also you’ve bought a mega 805 horsepower and 1,047 lb-ft of torque. Mercedes estimates the SL63 S E Efficiency will attain 60 mph from a cease in simply 2.8 seconds and go on to a high pace of 196 mph, making it each the quickest and quickest SL ever made. (These figures are solely 0.1 second and three mph off the GT, too.) It definitely feels that fast in observe; launch management is much less brutal than within the gas-only SL, delivering a large surge of torque that by no means lets up. It’s an outstanding powertrain, with rapid response and robust acceleration regardless of the pace or state of affairs.
When the battery is totally charged the SL63 S E Efficiency could have an electrical vary of round 8 miles. In a world the place different plug-in hybrids have EV-only ranges of upwards of 40 miles — together with from Mercedes — that sounds low, even after listening to AMG engineers speak about how this powertrain is admittedly about efficiency, not effectivity. In the actual world, although, the automobile’s vary is way larger.
In Sport mode, however particularly the Sport+ and Race modes, the battery is at all times getting charged up as rapidly as attainable utilizing the engine, belt generator and rear axle. The battery will be totally replenished in only a few minutes of regular driving, and the quicker you go and more durable you drive, the faster it’ll fill again up. In these performance-oriented drive modes the automobile remains to be utilizing that battery juice and electrical motor to help the engine in delivering most energy, and but the battery’s cost hardly ever dips.
Twist the drive mode knob into Consolation and the SL makes use of electrical energy for as lengthy and as typically as attainable, however it received’t deplete the battery previous about 25 p.c. Even then, the automobile nonetheless turns off the engine as a lot as it may possibly, and the operation is so seamless that I can barely inform when the engine kicks in. There’s an Electrical drive mode too, which retains the engine off till the battery runs out, until you hit the kickdown level within the accelerator at which level the engine will kick in and the automobile robotically switches to Consolation. The electrical motor can produce 94 hp of steady output or the total 201 hp in peak conditions, which is greater than sufficient for around-town driving, and the SL will attain above 80 mph in Electrical mode.
With the material roof stowed, which takes simply 15 seconds and will be completed at as much as 37 mph, the plug-in-hybrid system provides a complete new dimension to the SL that you simply don’t get within the GT. Snaking by means of quiet cities below electrical energy is great. Simply peeved Germans simply see the SL and smile because it silently glides previous; if this have been a traditional SL63, they’d be scowling on the V8’s pointless noise at low speeds, which is doubly embarrassing with the highest down. It begins up silently as properly, utilizing solely battery energy when the automobile is first turned on. As somebody who hardly ever drives with the home windows down not to mention with convertible tops retracted, the EV operation made me really need to drive the SL63 as a convertible. On the good nation roads round Mercedes’ Immendingen take a look at facility, I can higher hear the birds and scent the roses. Having the ability to glide round city silently makes it even higher after I do need to swap it into Race mode and produce that beautiful V8 to life.
And man, is it good in Race mode. The plug-in powertrain is tremendous responsive and entertaining to rev out, and the V8 sounds superior, with natural bangs and burbles. The SL’s dealing with is extra playful than the GT’s, notably when accelerating out of a nook the place the automobile is a little more squirrely and happier to kick the tail out a bit. Energetic hydraulic suspension with anti-roll stabilization retains the automobile flat by means of corners, and rear-axle steering makes the dealing with extra nimble than its near-5,000-pound weight would recommend.
One draw back with Race mode is that you simply’re restricted to one of many softer regenerative braking settings. In any of the opposite modes, Electrical included, the SL63 gives 4 ranges of regen from none in any respect to one-pedal driving that may almost convey the automobile to finish cease. (Above 65-percent battery cost the one-pedal mode is disabled, too.) It’s simple to get used to the sturdy regen, and the operation is linear even when going quick within the twisties — the transmission will even downshift aggressively when decelerating simply utilizing regen. The regen is mixed in regular driving, however when you actually stomp on the brake pedal the automobile depends on its large carbon-ceramic friction brakes.
I have to give a significant shoutout to the spec of the SL I drove. Since its introduction in 2021 the brand new SL has at all times been accessible in some cool manufacturing unit colours, however now Mercedes’ Manufaktur program gives a bunch of latest colours and fancier inside choices. This one is painted in Eire Mid Inexperienced Magno, a satin-finish shade that’s gorgeous within the daylight and made even higher when paired with the entire chrome exterior trim. A Manufaktur inside package deal covers extra surfaces in coloured leather-based, together with the steering wheel, and you’ll lastly get wooden trim.
When the SL63 S E Efficiency reaches U.S. sellers later this summer time it’s going to begin at $208,150 (together with $1,150 vacation spot), a premium of precisely $20,000 over the traditional SL63. The PHEV is price that improve to me, particularly when you can plug in at house or stay within the metropolis. It doesn’t have a lot competitors, both. A brand new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid prices $180,195 (add $7,800 for AWD), although add any choices and that rises quick. The 911 is a extra pure sports activities automobile however with none electric-only vary or plug-in functionality. Maserati’s totally electrical GranCabrio Folgore begins at $206,995, and whereas Andy says it’s actually good, it’s a distinct proposition from the V8-equipped SL.
The largest foil to the SL will likely be the facelifted Bentley Continental GT Pace, which has a PHEV setup with a V8 and 50 miles of electrical vary, although it’ll absolutely be much more cash when it goes on sale later this. For now, if you would like a droptop with an engine up entrance and a few EV vary, the 2025 Mercedes-AMG SL63 S E Efficiency is your automobile. Fortunately it’s a great one.
