At the Nurburgring, an SLS Black Series prototype that was testing burned down almost completely. But this is the reason Mercedes-Benz tests, and retests, its vehicles. To remove the possibility of any catastrophe befalling any would-be owners.  As the top-performing model in Mercedes’ array of cars, the SLS is already an extreme performance car. In case you haven’t noticed, it has become a perennial frontrunner in GT3 races. With that kind of pedigree, a Black Series SLS for the road is but a natural progression.

Since all Black Series models are hardcore versions of Mercedes cars, no one knows as yet which component of this extreme SLS was responsible for the fire. It can be any of a host of possibilities. Leaky fuel system? Overheated brakes? Rubbing tires? Glowing exhaust? What we can be sure of is that the engineers from Stuttgart will thoroughly investigate this incident and will only release a Black Series SLS  after signing off on the absolute integrity of the car. Unlike some red-painted sports cars that seem to spontaneously combust with regularity on the road.