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" You can put to rest any notion that Mercedes&amp;#039; retractable-hardtop roadster, the SL, has devolved into a cushy, high-profile boulevardier...with one drive of the new SL63 AMG. With 518 bhp from its 6208-cc aluminum 4-cam V-8 and a new 7-speed AMG SpeedShift MCT transmission, this open-top Merc can out-accelerate hard-core sports sedans like the BMW M3, as we&amp;#039;re estimating quarter-mile times in the mid-12-second range.   Upshifts are as quick as 100 milliseconds, thanks to its planetary-gear automatic with a twist \u2014 drive is taken not through a conventional torque converter, but an 8-plate hydraulically actuated wet clutch under computer control. The driving experience is electric \u2014 and we don&amp;#039;t mean that in the &amp;quot;electric motor&amp;quot; sense \u2014 especially with downshifts in the transmission&amp;#039;s Manual mode, where the system actually double-declutches for you and blips the throttle, matching revs with aggression heretofore unseen.   A retuned version of Mercedes&amp;#039; Active Body Control helps the SL63 corner ultra-flat, making best use of its Pirelli P Zero tires (255s front, 285s rear) on 19-in. AMG wheels. Brakes, the fronts featuring 6-piston calipers and 14.2-in. rotors, confidently scrub off the SL63&amp;#039;s easily accrued speed; and steering feels considerably more direct than a standard SL&amp;#039;s, bucking slightly over small bumps under high g loads.   That you&amp;#039;re in the AMG version won&amp;#039;t go unnoticed by the impoverished who can only afford Porsche Boxsters, because in addition to the regular &amp;#039;09 changes (a bolder, single-blade grille bar, reshaped lights, twin power domes on the hood), this performance version has the AMG side skirts, a more angular front clip with a considerably larger lower intake, a specific rear fascia/diffuser and a rear decklid spoiler, along with too many detail changes to list here. It&amp;#039;s a rush, sitting in the driver&amp;#039;s seat. And you should be sitting down for the price, in the neighborhood of $132,000 when it goes on sale in May. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/new-york-auto-show/news/a14194/2009-mercedes-benz-sl63-amg-2/>