If you haven’t already surmised from the influx of Mercedes SLS AMG coverage as of late, the new Gullwing seems to be one of the most popular cars at the Geneva Motor Show among tuners this year. One reason undoubtedly is because the SLS AMG offers the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 engine along with its technical resemblance to modern race cars. The latest to turn their attention to the SLS is German tuning company MKB, who went under the hood of the model and managed to raise the power from 571 hp to 638 hp – a nice boost for the power hungry among you. Along with the increased horsepower is increased torque, growing from 650 Nm to 710 Nm.
In the first tuning stage, MKB only offers a software upgrade, taking advantage of the already fantastic power on tap. Its performance speaks for itself, with speed times of 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds, 0-200 km/h (124 mph) in 10.5 seconds, and a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph) with speed limiter.
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG offers an already nearly perfect mechanical basis, intake and exhaust system – a huge achievement for a production vehicle. MKB merely tapped into the SLS Gullwing’s potential with its sophisticated MKB software, and in doing so managed to reveal the true power of the SLS. During the conversion, MKB flashes its MKB P 640 software into the ECU of the SLS, and the rest takes care of itself.
“If a car manufacturer offers such a high value engine and high value engine periphery parts in a mass production car than you won’t find additional power if you simply change some of these parts and hope for a performance increase. Because of that fact we did concentrate on the engine tuning with given properties first and we found its real potential. The existing technical basis of AMG is supporting the MKB tuning philosophy and development accuracy,” notes MKB CEO Panagiotis Avramidis.
In addition to the ECU upgrade, MKB also offers the Alpha III wheel set with 9.5×20 and 275/35 ZR 20 Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires at the front axle and 11.5×20 and 295/35 ZR 20 at the rear axle. The tire and wheel combination give the SLS a perfect driving balance for any high speed track.
Compared to other tuners complete overhall of the SLS AMG, the minor conversion offered by MKB that still offers an additional 67 HP and 60 Nm will likely be welcomed by SLS purists. The conversion to MKB P 640 is now available from MKB with TÜV, Euro 5 and MKB guarantee.
Thanks to Markus for the tip.
