Mercedes SLS AMG DROPPED in the U.S.

In what seems a strange move, MBUSU – Mercedes in the States – is dropping the SLS AMG from its range in favour of the SLS AMG GT.

When the Mercedes SLS AMG GT was revealed last week we were sure it was a new addition to the SLS range; a more edgy SLS for those wanting a bit more hard-core from their SLS and willing to dig a bit deeper to have one. And it is. But not in the USA.

Unlike in the UK and Europe – where the SLS AMG GT IS a new range-topper for the SLS family – Mercedes Benz in the States has decided that the SLS GT means there’s no longer any point offering American car buyers the regular SLS.

So instead of increasing SLS offering to their customers, Mercedes-Benz in the States is only going to offer the hard-core and more expensive SLS AMG GT leaving US buyers just the choice of a Gullwing or Roadster SLS GT – the same choice as before, just for more money and a bit more edgy.

It’s a bit like not offering the S550 any more because there’s an S600, or dropping the S63 because there’s also an S65. Could it be that Mercedes US are selling so few SLS AMGs that they can’t justify a new model, or is it just an unfathomable bit of marketing?

When MBUSA confirmed to us they’d no longer offer the regular SLS we asked them if they could explain their logic. They haven’t responded.

So we must probably assume it’s just a way of getting more money out of SLS customers in the States?