SL 63 AMG the Official Formula 1 Safety Car from Mercedes

We are sure there are enough people who just love a Benz, even more might love AMG, or at least might be impressed by it’s achievements, but I am not so sure if there is one single person who loves a safety car, especially seeing it on a Formula 1 track during a race. What is that safety car doing? It is ruining the race! That’s the reaction that most people I know have when they see it coming on the track. In all the excitement of the race, most of us are unlikely to notice the safety car itself. At best, we might only see that it goes fast and all the other Formula 1 cars are following it and everybody wants for it to just go where it came from, and let the race continue. It is a very normal behavior for any Formula 1 enthusiast but it is exactly this behavior that might have kept you away from discovering the great, specially tuned and equipped Mercedes – Benz SL 63 AMG that serves as a safety car. And yes, now you can find all about it.

The first thing you should know, just in case you do not already, is that the Safety Car is not meant to ruin our pleasure of watching the Formula 1 races but to keep things under control in critical conditions and most of  all ensure the safety of the racers.  Both the SL 63 AMG and the driver have a difficult task. You can easily imagine that both the safety car itself and the man who is driving it has to be top performers to complete this task successfully.

The driver of the Mercedes Benz SL 63 AMG Safety Car

The lucky man assigned to drive the amazing SL 63 AMG Safety Car is the former DTM driver Bernd Maylander from Germany. He has the difficult task of going to the head of the Formula 1 field and safely guide the racing drivers around the circuit. I said he has a difficult task because he has to achieve fast lap times otherwise the Formula 1 engines would overheat while their tires and brakes would cool down excessively.

The car that makes this possible: Mercedes Benz SL 63 AMG

Just like back in 2008 during the 2009 Formula 1 season the role of hte Official Formula 1 Safety Car has been assigned to the Mercedes Benz SL 63 AMG. The car has a 6.3 litre V8 engine with a power output of 525 hp which make it capable of an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.4 seconds.  The sport exhaust system of the SL 63 AMG has been redesigned and it is now featuring larger pipe diameter and special rear silencers which create a powerful sporty sound. Due to it’s newly developed AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7 speed sports transmission with column shift  SL 63 AMG can change gear in 100 milliseconds.

Special technical improvements for the Mercedes Benz SL 63 AMG Safety Car

Special coil-over suspension and cooling measures

Since the SL 63 AMG has to perform on various race tracks it has a specially designed coil-over suspension which can be customized to fit the reuirements of any specific circuit by means of individual suspension setup configurations. Optimum traction in all weather conditions is achieved through a combination of a 3 stage ESP and rear axle differential lock with 30 percent locking effect. Large size additional coolers for engine oil, transmission oil, coolant and power steering have been developed specially for the SL 63 AMG Safety Car to ensure maximum reliability and performance even at high temperatures.

Special heavy duty composite braking system of the Mercedes Benz SL 63 AMG Safety Car

The SL 63 AMG Safety Car is equipped all round with internally ventilated composite brake discs designed for optimum fatigue resistance and best technologically possible deceleration values. Therefore the front axle has been fitted with six piston fixed callipers and 390 millimetres discs while the rear axle has four piston fixed callipers and 360 millimetres discs. The car has 19 inch extra light AMG forged light alloy wheels. The rims help the cooling of the highly stressed braking system through the special engineered cooling air flow and the special design with double spokes.

Weight reduction measures

Since the car performs in a motorsports environment it was build with some materials used in motorsports, too. So the engine bonnet, front and rear aprons, front wings and luggage compartment lid are produced from carbon fiber reinforced plastic. The SL 63 AMG Mercedes Safety Car is always driven with its top up and that is the reason why the vario roof has gone. The final result is a weight reduction of 220 kilograms and a final weight of the car of 1750 kilograms despite the additional cooling measures added to the car, the special lighting system and communications equipment.

Exterior appearance of the Mercedes Benz SL 63 AMG Safety Car

The Mercedes Benz SL 63 AMG Official Formula 1 Safety Car can be easily distinguished from the standard production roadster by a front apron with larger cooling air openings and the modified diffuser insert in the rear apron which incorporates the active rear axle cooling. This one compensates temperature peaks inside the housing of the highly stressed differential.

The white LED flashlights in the headlamps and tail lamps are always in operation every time the vehicle is in use and they have a neutral signalling function. The number plate with the Safety Car lettering on the rear is illuminated by almost 700 LEDs which ensures better visibility and safety in extreme conditions like rain or low light.

The interior of the Mercedes Benz SL 63 AMG Safety Car

The driver and co-driver workplaces feature two AMG sport bucket seats with 4 point seatbelts. This is completed by trim parts in real carbon fibre and black leather appointments. The AMG performance steering wheel has a 365 millimetre steering wheel rim while the center console is equipped with two monitors which enable the crew to supervise the action on the racetrack. The car has also a two way radio system which allow the driver to remain in permanent contact with the race management.

The maker of the Safety Car

In case you did not know this already, there are two Safety Cars available: one is the emergency vehicle while the second one is the replacement car. The people responsible for the development, track testing and  production of this amazing versions of the Mercedes Benz SL 63 AMG are the specialists from the AMG PERFORMANCE STUDIO working closely with the test team for AMG overall vehicle development. The amazing background of over 40 years of know-how from the motorsports field as well as the great experience  in the design of high performance sport automobiles and the numerous test drives carried out on many Formula 1 tracks in order to tune the suspension and verify all the systems and components form just what it takes to achieve such a great result as a high performance Safety Car.

A little history in Formula 1

For 12 years AMG has continuously provided the Official Formula 1 Safety Car. Here are all the Mercedes Benz AMG Safety Cars from 1996 until present day:

• in 1996  C 36 AMG
• from 1997 CLK 55 AMG
• in 2000 CLK 55 AMG (new version)
• from 2001 SL 55 AMG
• in 2003 CLK 55 AMG (a different version from the previous ones)
• from 2004 SLK 55 AMG
• from 2006 CLK 63 AMG
• from 2008 SL 63 AMG

This is an impressive activity for Mecedes AMG in Formula 1 and a living proof of their commitment to Formula 1, motorsports and performance. The best part of all these is the fact that the production models have been the beneficiaries of technology transfer from this racing models to their road legal counterparts.