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It's time for the first drive of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG--but before MotorAuthority hits the road and the track in search of its 196-mph top speed, we've got more official press material from Mercedes-Benz.

The SLS AMG, as you've read here before, is the new exotic from Mercedes, and the latter-day successor to the gullwing 300SL. The new two-door coupe--we suspect a convertible version will emerge in 2011--will heat up Laguna Seca tomorrow as the first wave of auto journalists samples its 571-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8, its new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and a 0-60 mph time clocked at 3.8 seconds by Benz.

The new gullwing body sports a long nose to hold the big V-8 in a front-midship engine layout. The SLS is rear-drive, but with a transaxle transmission and all that front-end length, the weight distribution's nearly ideal. To give it stability, Mercedes fits a configurable spoiler for high-speed maneuvers....