Mercedes-Benz' SL Roadster is the Second Car to Offer MAGIC SKY CONTROL With SPD-Smart Technology in Large-Scale Series Production

Today Daimler AG announced that the new Mercedes-Benz SL luxury roadster will offer the MAGIC SKY CONTROL panoramic glass roof as an option. The MAGIC SKY CONTROL feature uses patented SPD-SmartGlass technology developed by Research Frontiers Inc.

to give drivers and passengers the ability to change the tint of their car's roof from dark to clear instantly with the press of a button. The Mercedes-Benz SL roadster is the second large-scale series production vehicle to offer MAGIC SKY CONTROL with SPD-Smart technology. In January 2011, Daimler introduced the new Mercedes-Benz SLK as the first car to offer this innovative feature. In today's press release, Daimler describes the MAGIC SKY CONTROL feature and its comfort-enhancing and heat-rejecting characteristics: "The sixth generation of the SL also offers a vario-roof that can be retracted into the boot using an electrohydraulic mechanism to save space, which converts the SL in a few seconds into a roadster or a coupé, depending on the driver's wishes and the weather. Unlike its predecessor, three versions are available for the new SL: painted, with glass roof or with the unique panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL. The transparent roof switches to light or dark at the push of a button. When light it is virtually transparent, offering an open-air experience even in cold weather. In its dark state the roof provides welcome shade and prevents the interior from heating up in bright sunlight. The frame of the three roof versions is made of magnesium, making the roofs around six kilograms lighter than the roof on the predecessor, thus providing a lower centre of gravity for the vehicle and, in turn, better agility. The engineers have refined the operating mechanism for the roof and boot lid. It now takes less than 20 seconds to open or close the roof completely."