Imagine the forces of nature, the destructive power of Tornado’s, earthquakes and meteor impacts combined as one, only then will you get some idea of the tectonic activity propelling the Mercedes SL 63 AMG Roadster. The aftershocks could be seen and heard at Mercedes Benz World, in Surrey, England. MB World is a modern day Cathedral to all things Mercedes and this day was an exclusive media driving event for overly spoiled auto hacks. The range of cars on offer to test was mouthwatering, I made a bee-line for the AMG range. If you don’t know, AMG are the magnitudinal forces that take a standard Mercedes and pump it full of automotive steroids. The everyday SL is characterised by its 5.5 litre normally aspirated V8 engine and run of the mill factory fit bodywork. The SL AMG rides on 19 inch alloys, it looks visually more angry, however the mechanical rage is focused on the engine. AMG take the 5.5 litre V8 and pump it full of Bi-Turbo growth hormones which produces seismic power outputs of 564 bhp, 900 Nm of Torque, a 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 186 mph.

” The heart of the SL63 AMG isn’t the 5.5 litre, V8 Bi-Turbo engine, its the microprocessor which controls all that power so you can drive like Miss Daisy”

My first taste of the SL 63 AMG Roadster was on MB World’s purpose built track where I attempted to master the car and the elements. I could go into detail about the engineering that guides this road going missile, but my time on track in the SL 63 revealed another side to this brutal machine. On the skid-pan section the instructor turned off all the driving aid’s ESP, Brake Assist, traction control suddenly, with a blip of throttle, all that pent up rage was released sideways and into a spin. This revealed that the CPU is the medication soothing the SL 63’s violent, rear wheel drive mood swings. Track time over I then headed out to the media car park and stepped into the Matte Black version of the car I had just driven for a quick blast around Surrey. With all the driver aids on, the SL 63 is easy to drive but the rage is always lurking ready to explode when required. Indeed the SL63 AMG Roadster is a forgiving car to drive, disguising its user’s true inabilities behind the wheel, for that rage is controlled and governed by the microprocessor, and this is where the true power lies not the 564 bhp.