Once again this year more than 500 experts from the automotive industry cast their votes to reward the best implemented body design. Out of all of the new vehicles which were put to the vote, the Mercedes-Benz SL emerged victorious at the 14th Global Car Body Benchmarking Conference held in Bad Nauheim. In carrying out their assessment, the experts took into account such criteria as development and design concepts, material development and application, production efficiency, customer value and engineering focus.

The traditional sports car from Stuttgart impressed the experts with its intelligent lightweight design. With the newly developed full-aluminium bodyshell of the SL - which is around 110 kg lighter than a comparable steel bodyshell - Mercedes-Benz is setting standards, according to the experts. 

Made almost entirely from aluminium, the bodyshell makes a significant contribution to ensuring that overall the SL is up to 140 kg lighter than the preceding model. It provides the basis for sharp, agile, sporty handling, coupled with exemplary roll characteristics and ride comfort – benefits which are noticeable and can be experienced to the full by SL customers.