The car was released in March 2012 and uses Mercedes-Benz's new 4.7 litre twin turbo V8 engine with a power output of 435 PS (320 kW; 429 hp).

[4] Engineers at Mercedes have also installed a new folding hardtop roof with a panoramic sunroof that will have as an option, variable tint.

'Edition 1' is a time-limited version of SL-Class vehicle with a panoramic vario-roof, AMG bodystyling, sports suspension, AMG 19-inch light-alloy wheels, designo Nappa leather with contrasting topstitching, AIRSCARF, heated seats, electric draught-stop, ambient lighting, Harman/Kardon Logic7 surround sound system, excluding designo crystal silver magno body colour option, trim in wave or deep white aluminium.

Edition 1 model includes AIRSCARF neck-level heating, AMG forged light-alloy wheels (painted matt black, rim flange with a high-sheen finish), AMG Performance package, designo Exclusive leather in classic red or deep white with contrasting topstitching, designo headliner in black leather, Harman/Kardon Logic 7 surround sound system, MAGIC SKY CONTROL panoramic vario-roof.

It included designo magno graphite (grey) body colour, "twin-blade" radiator grille with blade-like slats, the surround for the AMG-specific LED daytime driving lights, fins on the wings and the hood, Exterior Carbon-Fibre package, AMG sports exhaust system (black with chrome plating twin tailpipe, high-gloss chrome inner insert), AMG Performance Studio multi-spoke forged wheels painted in titanium grey with high-sheen rim flange and matt finish, 255/35 R 19 front and 285/30 R 20 rear tires, designo Exclusive STYLE leather upholstery in grey pearl/ginger beige, AMG Performance steering wheel, matt carbon fibre interior trim.

The Mercedes-AMG SL 63 (577 hp (430 kW; 585 PS)) and SL 65 (621 hp (463 kW; 630 PS)) variants continued with virtually unchanged powertrains, paired with AMG's SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission with claimed improved shift times.

Front and rear bumper assemblies were redesigned to align more closely with recent models introduced by Mercedes, while selected convenience and driver assistance technologies, introduced earlier on various other Mercedes models, were made optionally available, including revised Active Body Control (ABC), now with the "Curve Tilting" function from the S-Class Coupe.

A slight revision to the folding 'Vario-roof' hardtop operation meant it would continue to deploy at speeds up to 25 mph (40 km/h) once initiated and the luggage compartment partition, required to prevent the hardtop components, when folded, and any luggage compartment contents coming into contact with each other, no longer had to be deployed in a separate manual operation.

Interiors continued virtually unchanged for MY2017 with the exception of slightly revised minor switchgear and a redesigned steering wheel.