3 August 2001: Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the fifth generation of its SL-Class range, which has been the marque's the definitive luxury-sporting roadster for almost 50 years. It comes with a hard-top cabrio roof split into three sections – the aluminium roof panel, the strengthened C pillars, and the rear windscreen, made of four millimetre thick safety glass.

When opened or closed, the rear screen rotates to reduce the amount of boot space taken by the folded roof. The entire opening or closing procedure takes just 16 seconds – compared with 25 seconds for the current SLK-Class Roadster.

The vario-roof, boot lid and automatic roll-over bar employ 11 hydraulic cylinders. The SL-Class’s boot capacity is 288 litres with the roof closed, and 206 litres when open. Using the Tirefit system instead of a spare wheel adds another 29 litres to each figure.

An optional glass-topped Panoramic Roof will be available from the end of 2002, and is also fully automatic. However, all this technology is not at the expense of weight. The new SL 500 is 120 kg lighter than its predecessor, with a kerbweight of 1770 kg.

The new car's Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC) is the world’s first 'brake by wire' system fitted to a road car. The brake pedal is connected electrically to the main brake cylinder, (removing the need for a vacuum-powered brake booster) and a powerful microprocessor passes the braking information on to the hydraulically-activated brakes using electrical pulses. In order to maintain the driver’s 'feel' for the brakes, a special simulator uses spring pressure and hydraulics to give pedal resistance.

SBC gives quicker reaction times than a conventional system, meaning shorter stopping distances – around three per cent quicker at 70 mph. In wet conditions SBC will gently apply the brakes to dry the discs, thus improving wet weather braking performance. The driver is unaware that the brakes are operated.

The new SL-Class also has state of the art suspension. Active Body Control (ABC) was first introduced in the CL-Class in 1999. Using hydraulically controlled servo cylinders alongside passive springs and dampers, ABC gives a supple ride and helps the car stay level around corners. ABC will be standard on the SL 500.

The first SL to be launched is the 306 hp five litre V8-engined SL 500. A V6 model will follow at the end of 2002, with a 12 cylinder engine following later. TW