- Another tuner edition of the gullwing Mercedes debuts, dressed in carbon fiber and pink paint.
- Hamann bumps output to 628 horsepower and torque to 502 pound-feet.
- A full aero body kit and chassis upgrades are part of the package.
LAUPHEIM, Germany — Hamann, the German tuning house, loves to crow hyperbolically about its latest creations. But not all observers are singing from the same hymnal, as is the case with the new Hamann Hawk, a rather different take on the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
This version of the gullwing Mercedes is laden with aero add-on pieces and finished in pink — er, make that Everose Gold — prompting our friendly rivals at Autoblog to dub it "Barbie's first supercar."
The body kit includes a new front bumper and apron with larger air intakes, a black carbon-fiber hood and roof scoop, side skirts, a new rear apron with integral diffuser and massive air outlets, plus a high-mounted rear wing made of black carbon fiber.
Fortunately, Hamann has installed some serious hardware under the pinkish skin, notably an uprated version of the 6.2-liter V8 fitted with a titanium exhaust system, new manifolds, sport catalysts, sport air filter and reprogrammed ECU. The engine puts out 628 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque, trimming 0-60 acceleration to less than 3.6 seconds and nudging top speed to 199 mph.
The makeover includes a new coil-over kit with height-adjustable dampers that enables ride height to be dropped up to 1.2 inches. Hamann fits its own 21-inch forged alloy rims with low-profile rubber — 245/30ZR21 in front and 345/25ZR21 at the rear.
The cabin features oodles of carbon-fiber trim, leather and ultrasuede, as well as a redesigned steering wheel and black anodized aluminum pedals.
Inside Line says: Not the most attractive SLS conversion. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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msmaserati says:
02:11 PM, 03/16/2011
Hahahaha....Hummmmm....I must agree with most of you. Although, my passion sparked from the "tuner" era and even though I've moved up in rank to the love for exotic super cars, I think I'll always have a certain heart for wide body kits. I think the carbon fiber is gorgous....but, ummmm, the dull salmon color has GOT to go. Who does that???? This is a color you'd paint your little brothers Ford Tempo on the day he goes to get a license just to be a d*ck!!!! Shameful!!!!
jhatmaker24 says:
09:32 AM, 03/16/2011
Couldn't agree more supra4......roof scoops that aren't functional are completely ridiculous. Even when they're functional I'd prefer some sort of side air induction system.
audisport says:
09:29 AM, 03/16/2011
Finally! A good looking car from a German tuner.....
Just kidding.
Not sure what I hate more... The ricer carbon fiber hood, or the paint job, or the roof mounted scoop, or the ricer (although I'm sure fuctional) rear spoiler. Ugh.
jadeeclipse98 says:
08:20 AM, 03/16/2011
Love the massive rear tires though. That things needs them its so tail happy.
a1c_scg says:
08:14 AM, 03/16/2011
Hideous. These tuners have no shame. Such a good looking, elegant car in stock trim. These people know no bounds. Should see the monstous X6 they worked their 'magic' on.
mce63 says:
06:46 PM, 03/15/2011
It looks like they added the option to upgrade from just plain ugly to butt ugly.
supra4 says:
03:57 PM, 03/15/2011
Roof scoop*
It's so ridiculous my fingers thought my brain had made a mistake.
supra4 says:
03:55 PM, 03/15/2011
Good thing they added the hood scoop, it should feed air directly to the front engine bay...
agnh says:
02:08 PM, 03/15/2011
For a car that was IMO unattractive to begin with, all I can say is 'wow'.