SL 63 AMG chosen as 2008 F1 Safety Car
March 12, 2008 by George Skentzos
With the fastest things on four wheels in hot pursuit, the Official F1 Safety car needs to be fast and agile in its own right to maintain the pace required to keep temperature in the tyres and air flow to the sensitive engine of F1 racecars.
For the 2008 F1 season, a Mercedes-AMG has yet again been chosen with the SL 63 AMG Roadster acting as the official Safety Car, accompanied by the C 63 AMG Estate acting as the Medical Car.
Powered by an AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine producing 386kW, the SL 63 AMG Roadster, driven by 36-year-old Bernd Mayländer, can reach 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds.
Blisteringly quick on the road, the SL 63 AMG Roadster has received additional coolers for engine oil, transmission oil, cooling water and power steering in the interest of reliability.
To fend off brake fade, the car has also been fitted with six-piston fixed calipers and 390mm discs, while the rear features four-piston fixed calipers with 360mm rotors.
The dedicated safety car also weighs 220kg less than its series-production counterpart with the omission of certain creature comforts – including the mechanical and hydraulic components of the convertible Vario roof.
Possibly the most powerful ambulance in the world, the C 63 AMG Estate Medical Car features a slightly less powerful rendition of the AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine, which delivers 336kW of power and 600Nm.
On board is driver Dr. Jacques Tropenat (France), who is a medic and amateur race driver and his co-driver Dr. Gary Hartstein (Belgium), who is the official FIA Grand Prix Chief Medical Officer.
The luggage compartment offers ample space for the full complement of emergency equipment, including defibrillator and respirator.
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I was almost starting to prefer BMW until I saw this.
Na still BMW for me OZ…….except the fact that BMW would charge you for the optioned up Ambo,but I guess as its a Merc they need it anyway for all the oldies that drive them….hahaha.Just jokes AMG is the ONLY merc I would have.
I knew you’d disagree BM :)
Look I think an Aurion without skinny tyres and shod some 235.45 on there would outdo not only this chasing bunch but also the Veyron……lol who needs drugs when you can read comments like I see on here on time. YOU KNOW WHO I MEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thats really cool i actually prefer the new c class wagon to the 3 sereis wagon
now who’s starting the childish jokes (yet again?) then you turn around and say its the Toyota fans who start it?
give it a break NM , who are you kidding seriously..
Nice. I wonder what happens to the lights if you try to put the roof down?
I’d imagine the SL65 would find it very hard to get all the torque down in the wet, the ESP would be having a tizzy
Yeah BM, bring on the M3 Touring!!
Shoulda put a veyron in…that would’ve made things interesting.
AMG should do a light weight road version. 200 kg is alot to take out.
the lights wouldnt be overly light either pardon the pun.
take out all the creature comforts and theres no reason you couldnt find close to 400kg in my humble opinion.
Nice cars – those roof lights look really cumbersome compared to the more modern slim lights we see on police cars.
driving fan