Mercedes SLS Gullwing price announced

It might not be regarded as a bargain in the way most of us would describe a bargain, but in supercar terms this is as close as a bargain gets.

The price of the fastest Mercedes-Benz ever built -- the SLS Gullwing supercar -- was announced in Australia over the weekend.

And the sticker price -- before dealer and registration charges are added -- is substantially less than what Mercedes-Benz had forecast.

A year ago, the boss of Mercedes-Benz Australia, Horst Von Sanden, predicted the SLS Gullwing would cost in excess of $600,000 when it goes on sale locally.

But the final price announced in the past few days -- $464,000 -- is about $150,000 less than the original figure. Or, looked at another way, enough change to buy a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG as a daily commuter car.

The price will no doubt come as a surprise to at least 43 people who've paid "substantial five-figure" deposits to ensure they are at the front of the queue.

Indeed, Mercedes-Benz Australia has put in an urgent call for more cars, trying to increase its total allocation from 50 vehicles to 70.

"We don't think 70 will be enough to satisfy local demand, but if you don't ask you don't get," Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy told the Carsales Network.

"We did expect the price to be higher than it is ... but we've negotiated hard with Germany to get the car at this price. This shows that our price-value strategy applies to all Mercedes cars, from the B Class through to the SLS."

The first customer car is due to arrive in August, but the queue already stretches 12 months.

Mercedes displayed an SLS at the Melbourne F1 Grand Prix and at an AMG drive day at Phillip Island, "and we sold another four cars from those two events alone," says McCarthy.

The allocation of 70 SLS Gullwings will add $35 million to the turnover of Mercedes-Benz in Australia.

"This car is massively important to us, not just from an image point of view, but from a collectability point of view," he said.

As is the case with most supercars, Mercedes-Benz would not divulge any high profile names on the customer list. But McCarthy says at least half the customers are loyal AMG buyers, while the other half have come from other exotic European brands.

"This really is a watershed car for Mercedes in every way," he said. "New levels of performance and technology and new types of buyers coming into the Mercedes fold."

The SLS Gullwing was the first car designed from the ground up by Mercedes' AMG division, and was said to be part of an internal desire to build a vehicle that outpaced and outperformed the SLR McLaren, which was done out of house at McLaren F1.

The SLS Gullwing is powered by a dry-sumped, high output version of the highly regarded 6.2-litre V8 and matched to a strengthened, race-ready seven-speed dual clutch gearbox.

A convertible version of the Gullwing is due 12 months from now, but Australian pricing and allocation are yet to be confirmed.

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