The new SLS AMG was introduced in Mercedes House...

The launch of the awesome AMG SLS in Belgium was accompanied by a dramatic display of the history of AMG on two floors in the Mercedes House at the Sablon in Europe’s capital.

The cars shown were impressive to say the least, with the new SLS in silver grey livery being the absolute pinnacle.

Impressive was also the FIA GT winning CLK GTR...

We show you here some photos, and tell you a bit more about the evening and of course also we elaborate more on history of AMG…

Hans Knol ten Bensel

Erik Van den Heuvel righly proud to unveil the SLS AMG at Mercedes House in Brussels.

The Mercedes House is always a very pleasant venue, and it was indeed a great pleasure for your servant to see Erik Van den Heuvel, head of Communcations of Mercedes Benz Belgium, and his excellent staff, amongst others Nathalie Pierard, Press Relations Supervisor Mercedes-Benz Cars and David Gerimont, the man who organized again this magnificent AMG show at Mercedes House.

Ronny Cnudde, the President of the Belgian Mercedes-Benz Club was also present, and of course it was the occasion to take up some sweet memories together with him and the former Club president of the (good) time(s) when my father was President of the Belgian Mercedes-Benz Club. The Club now has not less than 600 members, and is doing very well indeed!

Erik Van den Heuvel opened the exhibition, and presented also the all new SLS for the first time to the public here, finishing his speech with a unique audio registration of the magnificent sound of the thoroughbred 571 hp AMG 6.3 liter V8 engine of the SLS. Just to get you in the mood!

How it all started: the mighty AMG 6.8 300 SEL is even impressive as a scale model, here on display behind glass on  the AMG exhibition at Mercedes House...

Some AMG history…

The history of this tuning firm is simply breathtaking, and for those who want to know more of it, just let me tell you that a very nice film is found on the AMG website, just click on http://www.mercedes-amg.com and you are witness to a breathtaking story, (mostly) told by the two founders.  

The SL 63 AMG, built since 2008, still inspires many...

The letters AMG stand for Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher, both former Mercedes Benz engineers, with the letter G standing for Grossaspach, the birthplace of Hans Werner Aufrecht. The company was established in 1967, and the first major breakthrough for the company on the sporting scene was the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 AMG driven by Hans Heyer and Clemens Schickentanz which surprised everyone by coming in second in the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps. I could not resist taking a close up picture of this formidable “big Merc” with my Sony W170 of the miniature model of this car on display in the Mercedes House, a few days before the opening of the exhibition. It truly conveys the massive proportions and the power of this car.

This CLK GTR won in 1998 the FIA GT championship, driven by Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta...
 

In 1976 most of AMG moved to Affalterbach, with the racing engine development remaining at the old location in Burgstall. At this time Erhard Melcher ceased to be a partner, but continued to be an employee at the Burgstall location.

In 1990, with AMG having become a preferred supplier of modified Mercedes cars, Daimler-Benz AG and AMG signed a contract of cooperation, allowing AMG to use Daimler-Benz's extensive dealer network and leading to commonly developed vehicles (the first one being the Mercedes-Benz C 36 AMG, in 1993). On 1 January 1999 DaimlerChrysler, as the company was called then between 1998 and 2007, acquired 51 percent of AMG shares, and AMG was renamed to Mercedes-AMG GmbH. Racing engine development was divested and now continues to exist in Burgstall under the name HWA (which are Aufrecht's initials). On 1 January 2005 Aufrecht sold his remaining shares to DaimlerChrysler, and since then it has been a wholly-owned subsidiary.

The rare SL 73 AMG: of this car, only 85 units were built...

AMG cars on display in the Mercedes House…

In the showroom one stand face to face with the CLK Formula 1 Safety Car built in 2006, with the recent E 63 AMG further on, shown in beautiful matte silver grey paint. This matte surface finish really shows the contours and shapes of the car masterfully, and certainly is a trend to follow.

Walking down the stairs one eyes the present SL 63 AMG with its 525 hp V8 engine, introduced in 2008. One also sees a rare example of the SL 73 AMG, of which only 85 copies were built between 1999 and 2001, its 7.2 V12 being good for a massive torque of 750 Nm at 4.000 rpm. Star of the show was also a dramatic CLK GTR. This racing “bolide” was built between 1997 and 1998 and sported a 5.986 cc V 12 engine which produced not less than 600 bhp at 5.750 rpm, catapulting it from 0 to 100 km in a mere 3.4 seconds. The car participated in the FIA GT –championship and suffice it to say that AMG-Mercedes won all ten races in the FIA GT Championship. Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta took the championship title in 1998.

… And a simulator

We also enjoyed greatly a magnificent driving simulator, showing the SLS on a drive on the “Nordschleife” of the Nürburgring. Of course your servant stayed well below the 10 minutes limit, but with a few (fortunately electronic) scratches and scrapes. The sight, sound, touch and feel of the simulator was very authentic!

Neat detail was the name plate on top of the imitation engine of the simulator, just like the real thing, as every AMG engine is completely hand-built and carries the name plate of its builder proudly on the valve cover(s).

The SLS experience

Of course last but not least we admired the beautiful lines of the SLS, elegant from every angle, and conveying the aura of its famous gull-winged predecessor.

Sliding behind the wheel of the SLS on display, we could dream away at the sight of these beautiful instruments...

The proportions of the car are “just right” and when sitting behind the wheel of the car in the showroom, we were of course dreaming of long stretches of winding Italian “Mille Miglia” roads, with the (audio) sound of its magnificent engine in our ears… we almost can’t wait to lay our hands on one for a test drive!

Your servant, delighted and dreaming away behind the wheel of the SLS...

In the meantime, you can admire the AMG cars and the SLS at the Mercedes House Brussels, Bodenbroeckstraat 22-24, 1000 Brussels. The exhibition runs until October 2010, open weekdays and Saturdays from 10 to 20.00 h and on Fridays until 22 h. On Sundays, it is opened from 10 to 16 h.

Hans Knol ten Bensel