The Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed arrives with all the elegance and grace of a heavy metal band. It rouses your eardrums and commands attention through spectacle and sound. It’s hard to look away. But at a time when new cars have become, for the most part, utterly predictable, boring products aimed at mass-market success, AMG’s roofless wonder is wonderfully idiosyncratic. It’s not for everybody, nor was it meant to be. It’s heavy metal in a sonic landscape of easy, algorithm-pleasing background music.
We knew Mercedes had a wild side, of course. This is the firm that brought the world the first and only supercar powered by a modern Formula One engine, as well as a quad-motor electric G-Class that can do pirouettes at the push of a button, and before that the Mercedes- Benz SLR McLaren. Toward the end of its production run, Mercedes even made a roofless version of the SLR named after the late, great Sir Stirling Moss. (Those now trade hands for upwards of $4 million, so clearly there’s a market here.) The point is that the PureSpeed isn’t out of character for the German luxury brand, but rather the next chapter in a long-running rebellious streak from the team in Stuttgart.
“The Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed is the most direct way to experience performance and fun at the wheel,” explains Michael Schiebe, CEO of Mercedes-AMG. “Thanks to the car’s radically open design with no roof or windscreen, nothing separates the driver and passenger from the elements, allowing them to fully appreciate the vehicle, the road, and the landscape with all their senses.”
Capped at just 250 examples worldwide, the PureSpeed is the inaugural salvo from Mercedes-Benz’s ultra-exclusive new Mythos label. It’s loosely related to AMG’s SL 63 convertible, with aerodynamic elements taken from the AMG GT 63 PRO. Unlike those machines, however, the PureSpeed thumbs its nose at practicality by throwing away the roof and most of the windscreen, save for a little thumbnail of glass over the dashboard.
The most striking design element is unmistakably the Formula One–inspired HALO protection system that replaces traditional A-pillars. This tubular steel structure that looks like the thong on a pair of flip-flops was introduced in F1 in 2018, in order to protect drivers from flying debris and roll-over impacts. It’s credited with preventing serious injuries and saving the lives of drivers including Charles Leclerc, Romain Grosjean, Lewis Hamilton, Zhou Guanyu, and Fernando Alonso, among others. That little metal thong may not look like much, but the HALO has proven incredibly strong, robust, and effective. But there’s never been a road car with a HALO device until now.
As Mercedes describes it, “the bifurcated safety feature is firmly attached to the car’s shell structure. The aerodynamically optimized component protects both passengers; as such, it bifurcates behind the car’s occupants.” As if it weren’t obvious enough, the HALO is indirectly lit at the bottom by narrow LED strips.
The HALO also serves another purpose on the PureSpeed: cosplay. It lets owners live out their F1 driver fantasy on the road. Thankfully, Mercedes includes with the car two aerodynamically optimized helmets designed specifically for the PureSpeed. An intercom system built into the helmets allows the driver and passenger to talk on the phone and listen to music.
With AMG’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 under the hood pumping out 577 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, occupants really are going to need to wear those helmets. Mercedes claims the car will do 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and hit a top speed of 315 km/h. The wind at that speed will really mess up your hair. In fact, without a windscreen or roof, even modest speeds will feel like warp velocity; the air becomes a physical force against your body, the V8’s thunder resonating through your chest cavity as wind noise drowns out everything.
The chassis gets all the best bits from AMG, including active rear-axle steering, specially tuned 4Matic all-wheel drive, and AMG’s clever semi-active hydraulic anti-roll system.
Being a Mercedes, it doesn’t skimp on luxuries just because it doesn’t have a windscreen. There’s a Burmester 3D Surround Sound system with 15 speakers and 1,170 watts of power. A bespoke analog clock designed by IWC Schaffhausen — reminiscent of the IWC Ingenieur Collection — sits in the middle of the dashboard atop a base of carbon fibre. Colour and trim options were inspired by legendary race cars from Benz’s past, including the 300 SLR (the car that Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson drove to victory at the 1955 Mille Miglia) as well as the blood-red 2.0-litre Mercedes-Benz that took part in the 1924 Targa Florio.
Mercedes considered practical things too, such as what to do if it rains. In that case, drivers should simply park immediately and stretch a tailor-made rain cover over the interior and HALO before fastening it to the wheel arches. Easy, right? Er, no. But if you’re looking for a practical machine, you’re barking up the wrong tree.
The PureSpeed is about getting back to a time when driving was about sensation rather than isolation, when performance was measured in spine tingles rather than touchscreen responsiveness. It’s for the collector who has everything and drivers who understand that true luxury isn’t found in convenience, but in experiences that cannot be replicated. It’s also for living out your F1 daydreams. And this is just the opening salvo in Mercedes’s Mythos series. We can’t wait to see what comes next.
