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By
EWAN KENNEDY
7 July 2008
Look at it from a distance, and perhaps in slightly dull light,
and the latest Mercedes-Benz SL could be mistaken for its
great-grandfather – the famed Gullwing Mercedes 300SL of the
1950s. Because the stylists have had a field day with the SL
facelift.
Not that
the roadster looked bad last week, it’s just that the new model
is so much better in its visual stance. Just look at that low
front with a big, wide mouth emphasised by a single grille-bar
with a three-pointed star in the centre, to see what we mean.
It’s
not just the face of the SL that has been changed to achieve this,
the bulges on bonnet and big headlights fit nicely into the
picture as well. Then there are cues to the most memorable feature
of the Gullwing (apart from its upward-opening doors) the big
gills on the front guards. This really is a very special car.
There's
a lot more to the latest SL-Class roadster than simply its
stunning new looks. Under the bonnet changes include more engine
power and torque, but this has been achieved without any increase
in fuel consumption. Indeed, fuel use and emissions have both been
significantly lowered according to official Australian test
results.
Even the
smallest engine we tested, the 3.5-litre V6, manages to provide
232 kilowatts for strong, safe acceleration and plenty of driving
pleasure.
The
largest engine is a Mercedes monster, with 12 cylinders two
turbochargers and the sort of punch that staggers passengers if
they have never ridden in a car like this AMG variant of the
biggest Mercedes roadster. Punch that comes by courtesy of a neat
1000 Nm, that’s right, 1000 of Mr. Newton’s finest!
This
engine is a modern masterpiece in that it can work at very low
revs with never a whimper. You might not consider a car like this
for day-to-day shopping, but it will do that mundane task in
complete ease. But give it its head on the open road, especially
in a straight line, and it simple roars and becomes almost animal
like in its characteristics. On a winding road, such as the old
road from NSW to Queensland on which we sampled it, it’s
something very special.
Sadly,
we didn’t get to drive the other hot model in the range, the SL
63 AMG. As before, it features a 6.2-litre V8 engine, now uprated
to produce 386 kW and 630 Nm. The most interesting feature is the
fitment of a wet-clutch in front of the automatic transmission.
This gives sharper gearchanges and even stronger off-the-line
performance and is virtually a manual clutch mated to a
conventional hydraulic automatic. However, there could be some
refinement issues with a setup like this one. We hope to test it
soon.
Mercedes’ clever
Airscarf system, that blows hot air on demand onto the necks and
shoulders of both occupants, was developed for the SL’s smaller
brother, the SLK. Now it has been adapted to suit the big SL as
well thus extending the season in which you can drive with the top
down. Wind up the normal heater, add the warming of the Airscarf
and you can enjoy wind in your hair even with the outside
temperature down into single figures.
Suspension
refinement and increased braking power have been allied with the
engine improvements in this latest Merc SL series, resulting in a
car that driving purists will just love. As will those more
interested in image and prestige than in hard driving adventures.
On the
downside, these are large cars with cabin space really only suited
to two, and the fuel consumption of the biggest engines is on the
anti-social side. It can be argued that these are usually bought
as toys, so will spend little time on the road and therefore
actual annual consumption won’t be all that high.
The
prices of the new Mercedes-Benz SL roadsters aren't for the
faint-hearted. Yet the opening tag of $223,000 for the
six-cylinder automatic pales into relative insignificance when you
look at the mighty rrp of $468,000 carried by the SL 65 AMG.
The
full Mercedes-Benz SL-Class range, with prices (excluding on-road
costs) is:
SL 350 3.5-litre: $223,000
SL 500 5.5-litre: $306,000
SL 63 AMG 6.2-litre supercharged: $382,000
SL 600 5.5-litre bi-turbo: $385,000
SL 65 AMG 6.0-litre bi-turbo: $468,000
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Marque Publishing Company
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