Mercedes SLS is officially dead

We warned you to prepare yourselves, and now it has come to pass: the Merc SLS is dead.

Mercedes has confirmed that it shall reveal a ‘Final Edition' SLS at the LA and Tokyo shows next week, marking the end of the line for its monstrous V8 supercar.

The Final Edition is described by Mercedes "an ultimate, particularly attractive variant of our super sports car", and looks like a poshed-up version of the stock SLS, not a Black Series-beating run-out special.

It gets the same 583bhp 6.3-litre V8 as the ‘standard' SLS GT, not the uprated 622bhp version found in the SLS Black.

But like the Black, the Final Edition gets a whacking great fixed rear wing, along with a black bonnet - which we're assuming is carbon fibre rather than a salvage yard respray job.

We know it'll be limited to a production run of 350 cars. But beyond that, Merc's staying schtum on details, though we're promised an interior upgraded over the standard SLS. We're hoping rocket launchers.

As we reported earlier, the SLS will be replaced by Merc's upcoming smaller sports car, codenamed ‘C190' and expected to rival the 911 when it arrives next year. The front-engined two-seater is expected to get a new 4.4-litre turbo V8 good for 500bhp.