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Ed Redfern drifts the SLS AMG

Sliding the SLS AMG on wet pavement, this lame excuse for drifting is offset by a $500k price tag.
Sliding the SLS AMG on wet pavement, this lame excuse for drifting is offset by a $500k price tag.
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Don't get too excited, this isn't the high energy tire ripping drifting style that we're used to. Thanks to driver Ed Redfern, we get to watch the SLS AMG slide around on wet pavement during a so called "drift session". Even though the drifting is incredibly weak, it's still fun to watch this piece of mechanical art slide around sideways. Watching the SLS AMG twist and turn is too surreal. Thanks to a 6.2 liter V8 and rear wheel drive, the SLS AMG has no problem finding enough torque to slide out on wet pavement. Even if the pavement was dry, the SLS AMG could drift; so why didn't they really drift it?

Imagine someone tossing you the keys to a half million dollar flagship that just hit the pavement. Chances are, you'd ask for wet pavement too. Beyond cost, Mercedes-Benz has a pretty sour reputation when it comes to drifting. All of their technology used to keep the car on the road safely can interfere with the driving style required in order to perform a drift. Sure you can turn some of these features off, but in some models Mercedes-Benz doesn't let you remove all of them. Discuss this article with CarDomain.com

More Mercedes-Benz videos!

If you're going to buy a drift vehicle, forget Mercedes-Benz and go with BMW if you must pick a high end German vehicle. BMW's are known for homegrown track performance, while Mercedes is more along the lines of high dollar LeMans style performance. Yes you can modify any Mercedes-Benz into a drift vehicle, but the cost is going to knock your socks off. For a fraction of the cost it takes to retrofit a Benz into a race car, you could be toting an easy 1,000+ horsepower BMW. Enjoy the following lame drifting session, and try to focus on the fact they're sliding $500,000 around.

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Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Full-time engineer turned writer, Michael brings knowledgeable articles about Tampa Bay's sports car scene. His experience in import, domestic, and...

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  • Susan - Pasco County Food Examiner 1 year ago
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    Glad you found those alerts.

    Still catching up from my visit with family, in England.

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