In the months leading up to the September debut of its SLS AMG Gullwing, Mercedes-Benz has teased enthusiasts by pulling off the coupe’s camo bit by bit—and revealing the entire interior—like some sort of exotic dancer slowly peeling off her clothes. Now she’s going topless, as evidenced by these spy shots of the SLS roadster.

Motivated by AMG's 6.2-liter 32-valve V-8, which makes 563 hp at 6800 rpm and 479 lb-ft of torque at 4750 rpm, the SLS coupe is promised to reach 62 mph in 3.8 seconds and accelerate up to a governed top speed of 196 mph. Those figures likely won't change much for the roadster, placing it right in the middle of a super-droptop dogfight that includes the Ferrari F430 Spider and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder. Power will be transmitted to the rear wheels by means of a seven-speed dual-clutch transaxle gearbox. Unknown is whether Mercedes will offer a droptop version of the recently confirmed, all-electric SLS eDrive variant due in 2013.

The SLS roadster will be a big sports car, but it won't be a direct replacement for the SLR convertible. It will cost about half as much and will be about 300 pounds lighter than that departed supercar, despite the SLR's generous use of ultra-expensive carbon-fiber panels. It likely will be about 200 pounds heavier than the fixed-roof SLS, however.

We don't yet know for sure how the doors will open, only that they obviously can’t be of the Gull variety—Mercedes could use regular doors or scissor-type doors such as those found on the McLaren SLR roadster.

According to our sources, the SLS roadster is scheduled to launch in late 2011, almost two years after the launch of the Gullwing coupe. The two models will be sold alongside each other, unlike the original W198 300SL coupe and roadster, which the SLS tries to replicate in spirit. The fixed-roof 300SL was launched in 1954; the 300SL roadster completely replaced the original Gullwing three years later.

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