A little over a decade ago, Mercedes-Benz hit a peak. The brand was waging a hotly-contested war with Ferrari at the highest levels of motorsport; though they came up short in the constructors’ championship (despite the heroics of an admittedly-aging Michael Schumacher), their power plant and the McLaren MP4-26 chassis had catapulted a young Lewis Hamilton ahead of the Scuderia (though he was still two years from switching to the factory-backed team).

The time was right for a new halo car—and it seemed the only way forward for Mercedes-Benz was to look to its past.

The original 300SL was long considered an object of fantasy by both casual automotive enthusiasts and zealots alike. The now iconic elongated hood, airy cabin, truncated rump, and gullwing-hinged doors was a stylistic home run. Meanwhile the stout, electronically fuel injected inline six cylinder propelled the coupe to a 163 mph top speed—fastest among its peers.

Given the retro-obsessed design culture of the early ‘00s auto industry, it should have been no surprise that Stuttgart’s most revered model would come back around at just the right moment. Succeeding the SLR McLaren, the SLS AMG made its debut amid great fanfare at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show.

Though considered more a spiritual successor than a direct descendent, the DNA coursing through both vehicles’ bloodlines was obvious. The proportions remained similar, though the height of the new iteration came in a hair under the original. Incredibly, listed curb weight was within a few hundred pounds—an indication of AMG’s adherence to the “Super Leicht Sport” creed promised by the model’s acronym.

At its introduction, the 563 horsepower V8, mounted aft of the front axles, claimed the naturally-aspirated power title. So extensive were the modifications that AMG designated a new engine code. The M159 boasted 6.2 liters, a new intake system, valvetrain, camshafts, flow-optimized tubular headers, and a dry sump oiling system—just like the original.

This was the vehicle with which AMG’s F1-hardened engineers could truly turn up the dial. While certainly a street-first vehicle, the SLS AMG had the chops for hard track days perhaps more than any that had come before it. The driving experience is best characterized by the relentless amount of torque on demand at all times.

Curiously, for years following its debut, the SLS AMG resided in purgatory. Perhaps this was because Mercedes-Benz evolved the formula to be more hardcore than grand tourer with the SLS GT. Or, it could have been the fact that its performance was vastly overshadowed by the wildly successful AMG GT series that soon followed. Maybe it simply didn’t quite live up to the effortless beauty of its forbearer. In any case, models swapped hands in the mid-$100k range for years.

That is, until now. Prices for the 2010-2012 originals have climbed more than 20% over the past year—outpacing the overall collector car market over that same span.

This 2011 example, resplendent in the requisite Alubeam Silver, is currently available on consignment at K2 Motorcars. Contact us to learn more, and possibly take advantage of the rising tide, today.

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