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Mercedes har sluttet sig til McLaren, Porsche og Ferrari i hypercar arena med den fantastiske SLS AMG Black SeriesNext år kan godt ende med at blive husket i bilindustrien som år, hvor hypercar. Du venter på den bedste del af et årti efter noget at udfordre Bugatti Veyron og tre rivaler komme sammen på én gang: Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari F150 og McLaren P1 vil alle være i showrooms før året er omme, hver bærer en prisseddel på noget mellem 600.000 og 1 mio. Disse nye hypercars være et skridt til at ændre på den højeste ende af ydeevne på markedet. Cylinder og hestekræfter race i løbet af de årtier, der kulminerede med den Veyron og dens 1000bhp W16-motor vil blive vist over, som den nye race skifte til hybridisering i forfølgelsen af mere miljøvenlige - men ikke mindre dramatisk - performance. Men theres en anden hypercar ud næste forår uden elektrisk motor eller batteri pack i syne: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series. Min stjerne bil af LA motor show i denne uge, Black Series er ca så stor og vred udseende som hypercars get, og det vil koste mindre end halvdelen af selv de billigste af hybrid trio forfalder ved udgangen af 2013. Men trods dets pågående udseende, sort-serien er ikke bare en anden ibrugtagning hestekræfter race. Dens en fuld-on racerbil for vejen, tager meget af sin teknologi fra den succesfulde SLS AMG GT3 racerbil. Kort fra AMG Ola Källenius til hans ingeniører var enkel: at gøre Black Series GT3 bil for vejen. Og resultatet, han siger, det ultimative udtryk for hvad vores ingeniører kan gøre, når de får lov til at gå amok. Det er svært at være uenig. Den berømte indsugning normalt 6. 2-liters V8-motor er indstillet til 631hp, nok til at gøre Black Series de stærkeste model i AMGs 45-årige historie. Og er ikke bare et tilfælde af at tilføje mere magt: hele motoren har været erfaringer med GT3 teknologi. Så lift theres en større indsugningssystemet, høj knastaksel, reviderede ventil Ventilløfterne, reviderede olie system, lysere lejer og stivere conrods. Og rev grænse er rejst fra 7200 rpm til 8000 rpm. Udstødningssystemet er nu fremstillet af titanium, mens kulfiber kan findes overalt fra karrosseriet til bagvæggen for at spare vægt. Helt noget derefter, SLS sort serien. Hypercar fans har aldrig haft det så godt. Så imponerende som 918, F150 og P1 og deres fremtidige teknologi vil naturligvis være, SLS sort serien viser theres masser af liv i den ikke-hybridiserede hypercar endnu. Så spektakulære er SLS sort serien ser ud og spec ark, måske Källenius skal lade sin ingeniører gå crazy oftere. Mercedes has joined McLaren, Porsche and Ferrari in the hypercar arena with the stunning SLS AMG Black SeriesNext year may well end up being remembered in the car industry as the year of the hypercar. You wait for the best part of a decade for something to challenge the Bugatti Veyron and three rivals come along at once: Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari F150 and McLaren P1 will all be in showrooms before the year is out, each wearing a price tag of anything between 600,000 and 1 million. These new hypercars represent a step change at the highest end of the performance market. The cylinder and horsepower race over the decades that culminated with the Veyron and its 1000bhp W16 engine would appear over, as the new breed switch to hybridisation in pursuit of more environmentally friendly – but no less dramatic – performance. But theres another hypercar out next spring with no electric motor or battery pack in sight: the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series. My star car of the LA motor show this week, the Black Series is about as big and angry-looking as hypercars get, and it will cost less than half of even the cheapest of the hybrid trio due by the end of 2013. But despite its brash looks, the Black Series is not just another entry into the horsepower race. Its a full-on race car for the road, taking much of its technology from the successful SLS AMG GT3 race car. The brief from AMG Ola Källenius to his engineers was simple: to make the Black Series a GT3 car for the road. And the result, he says, the ultimate expression of what our engineers can do when they're allowed to go crazy. Its hard to disagree. The famed normally aspirated 6. 2-litre V8 engine is tuned to 631hp, enough to make the Black Series the most powerful model in AMGs 45-year history. And its not just a case of adding more power: the whole engine has been gleaned with GT3 technology. So theres a larger inlet manifold, high lift camshaft, revised valve tappets, revised oil system, lighter bearings and stiffer conrods. And the rev limit is raised from 7200rpm to 8000rpm. The exhaust system is now constructed from titanium, while carbonfibre can be found everywhere from the bodywork to the rear bulkhead to help save weight. Quite something then, the SLS Black Series. Hypercar fans have never had it so good. As impressive as the 918, F150 and P1 and their future technology will of course be, the SLS Black Series shows theres plenty of life in the non-hybridised hypercar yet. So spectacular are the SLS Black Series looks and spec sheet, maybe Källenius should let his engineers go crazy more often.
