Mercedes-Benz teases ‘diamond’ grille on freshened SL
Mercedes-Benz’s freshened SL features a retouched fascia and a new “diamond” radiator grille, a teaser photo released Tuesday by the automaker shows.
The 2017 SL, a freshened version of Mercedes’ venerable two-door roadster, will be unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show next week.
Mercedes’ teaser photo shows what appears to be an overhaul of the front end of the SL, which last underwent a major redesign for the 2013 model year.
The most notable change is what Mercedes calls a diamond grille, of which similar designs appear on the Mercedes S-class coupe and the A-class compact car.
As with the 2016 SL and other Mercedes models, the luxury carmaker’s iconic star logo remains a prominent feature on the grille.
The new SL also appears to feature smaller, more aerodynamic headlights, a redesigned lower grille and what appears to be a revamped hood.
Mercedes has said the car’s SL designation will continue being used on its two-door roadsters “in recognition of its iconic status” while the brand adopts new nomenclature to distinguish its cars and light trucks.
Beginning with the 2017 model year, the third letter in cars designated with the SL name will indicate size, including the renamed SLC, currently known as the SLK.
U.S. sales of the SL have dropped 18 percent to 3,384 this year through October compared with the year-earlier period. U.S. deliveries of the SLK have slipped 9.5 percent to 3,653.