An in-depth review of Mercedes' newest world-class supercar, the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Hosted by Chris Moran. SEE OVER 100 IN-DEPTH AUTO REVIEWS @ www.SUPERCARNETWORK.com. It's five and a half feet long. It weighs 8.8 pounds. Height of an adult female, weight of a gallon or so of gas—these are the critical dimensions of the carbon-fiber driveshaft running between the engine and the rear-mounted transaxle in the new Mercedes SLS AMG. We note this here because, despite the car's retro-gullwing looks, the SLS is utterly bleeding edge—both in terms of its technical attributes and what it represents for Mercedes' in-house tuner. It is not simply a Mercedes with bigger wheels and a breathed-upon V-8 or V-12. It is, down to its churning carbon-fiber core, AMG's first dedicated automobile and the very antithesis of the overly complex and overweight half-million-dollar Mercedes SLR McLaren. "The SLS is a serious super sports car," says AMG chief of development Tobias Moers before taking a shot at the SLR, a carbon-fiber-bodied car that still managed to weigh in at 3858 pounds. "Our SLS weighs only 3572 pounds," he says, nearly 300 pounds lighter than the McMerc. Keeping the 182.6-inch-long, two-seat SLS's mass in check is its entirely aluminum construction (save for that driveshaft and steel A-pillars), a first for Mercedes-Benz. The aluminum structure weighs just 531 pounds, Mercedes says. The most distinctive aspect of the SLS's appearance is, of course, its roof-hinged...