Motivated by AMG’s 6.2-liter 32-valve V-8, which makes 563 hp at 6800 rpm and 479 lb-ft of torque at 4750 rpm, the SLS coupe is promised to reach 62 mph in 3.8 seconds and accelerate up to a governed top speed of 196 mph is the new 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. The SLS roadster will be a big sports car, but it won’t be a direct replacement for the SLR convertible. It will cost about half as much and will be about 300 pounds lighter than that departed supercar, despite the SLR’s generous use of ultra-expensive carbon-fiber panels. We don’t yet know for sure how the doors will open, only that they obviously can’t be of the Gull variety—Mercedes could use regular doors or scissor-type doors such as those found on the McLaren SLR roadster.

Expect Mercedes’s flagship roadster to launch in late 2011, almost two years after the launch of the Gullwing coupe. The two models will be sold alongside each other, unlike the original W198 300SL coupe and roadster, which the SLS tries to replicate in spirit.