Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster: Official photos

Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster - it'll finally debut at Frankfurt in September

Mercedes has finally revealed official photos of the 2012 Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster, even thought it won’t debut until the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

The official arrival of the Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster is turning out to be a rather difficult event to call.

It’s getting on for two years since we ran the first spy photos of the SLS Roadster, at which point we had expectations that it might arrive at Geneva in 2010.

And we were almost certain that the SLS Roadster would finally arrive at the New York Motor Show last month after we published photos of an undisguised SLS Roadster out partying in Hamburg. But we were wrong on both counts.

But with all those photo floating around, it was starting to get silly that Mercedes was still keeping the SLS Roadster away from public eyes. So, well ahead of what now appears to be a Frankfurt debut in September for the Roadster, Mercedes has relented and given us a handful of official photos.

Mercedes say the SLS Roadster is still undergoing testing, and the productiuon cars won’t be ready for a few months. But what has been done looks impressive, both cosmetically and technically.

There’s a new supporting struts on the windshield frame and a structure between the soft top and tank to stiffen the back axle, both of which prevent vibration and limit weight increase.

Chopping off the roof and doors has meant fitting a reinforcing cross-member behind the seats to support the rollover protection. Interestingly, Mercedes has taken the opportunity to stick the subwoofer for the B&O sound system in it.

The cloth roof is a work of art – made of three layers of fabric, magnesium, steel and aluminium, and capable of being raised or lowered at up to 31mph – with virtually no flapping or booming all the way up to the 197mph top speed, and even gets a bonded-in rear window made of single-layer safety glass.

No doubt we’ll get more as we get closer to Frankfurt and the eventual debut of the SLS AMG Roadster.