Suck it, proles! While the up-and-coming, emerging-market, cheap-and-cheerful crowd enthuses over the prospect of Datsun’s return or considers the purchase of Daewoo’s Chevrolet’s latest Korean global minicar, the nice people at Mercedes-Benz have decided to cut the one percent (real or imagined) in on the action with an early release of the 2013 SL65 roadster, er, cabriolet, er, whatever the hell it is.
The previous-generation SL65 was a rather one-dimensional creature. Your humble author had the chance to spin a peanut-eyed SL55 and SL65 back-to-back around Autobahn Country Club with Australian stock-car racer and driving-school founder Barry Graham about six years ago, and we both came to the conclusion that the SL55 was actually faster. The big twelve’s calendarian turbo lag and apatosaurian weight wrote an on-track check that its additional 140 or so horsepower over the supercharged V-8 version couldn’t cash. Luckily for fast-Benz fans, the SL63 which arrived afterwards was maybe the most satisfying AMG SL, since it had that wonderful, free-spinning naturally-aspirated AMG-specific V-8.
The new-gen SL63 unceremoniously tosses the six-point-two, I mean, six-point-three V-8 in favor of a twin-turbo 5.5 coupled with a 250-pound weight reduction. For some people, however, that won’t be enough, so Mercedes-Benz will debut an SL65 at New York next month.
The engine is mostly carryover, retuned for 621 horsepower instead of 604. Torque stays the same at 738 pound-feet. This torque figure, which appears all over the big-buck German spec sheets, is significant for two reasons. First, it equates to a round thousand newton-meters. Second, it was widely considered to be all the power the old five-speed Benz automatic could handle. That transmission does not return for 2013, however; instead, a beefed-up 7G-TRONIC will be doing the shifting. It’s a shame, really: the old transmission wasn’t the smoothest thing going, but it was durable.
Weight is down to 4,299 pounds or thereabouts. Price will be in the $200K range. As before, the depreciation curve should run at approximately dead vertical, so if you’re genuinely smitten by the idea of owning a singularly awkward German Corvette that gets seven miles per gallon, waiting two years should enable you to take delivery at half price.
Was the Autobahn Country Club a good track to test the SL65, or would you have preferred another?
Personally, I’d prefer pretty much ANY other track to ABCC. Like many of its designer’s other layouts, the track has no “flow”.
Gimme Grattan (or Road America, thinking bigger) every time.
prettiest thing on the front of this “S L6565” is the license plate.
Good for MB to bring the weight down; it should make the regular SL a much more capable car. As to the ’65 version, it occurs that the only reason to reach horsepower levels in the 700’s is to ensure healthy six-digit prices with lots o’ profit…
If I said this would be the perfect vehicle to plow through an OWS demonstration at Zucotti park, would that get me banned from the site?
That depends, does it have the euro-spec pedestrian friendly hood?
You would need to jack it up several feet. Zucotti Park is all stairs. I was there yesterday — more TV camera crews than actual demonstraters, and even more cops.
Erm – might be fine with the BATB, but Obama will consider your statement evidence of embracing terrorism, and either have you indefinitely detained without counsel or trial, or assassinated with a Hellfire missile fired from a Predator drone. Welcome to the new Homeland, Comrade Mark!
Ob@ma HIMSELF doesn’t scare me. What’s his administration is doing to our beloved industry through CAFE….that’s something different. Living in a world where I can’t have my fullsize Mercedes? Now THAT scares me…
So the Bush administration allows an actual terrorist attack, declares an illegal war that kills an additional few thousand americans, empties the previously full treasury, and is caught eavesdropping illegally on every american citizen – and this is what you come up with? blah blah blah
Generally speaking -taking pleasure in the possibility of killing people is – oh how to put it – bad taste.
Hmm, this is quite handsome.
This reminds me of when I used to work on Wall Street for a big bank running a couple of their big derivatives books. One day, I was walking home to my apt. in the village, and I was crossing against the light downtown. A bright gold new SL560 was pulling ahead, inches from my legs. Angered, I looked up at the guy, with 2 raised middle fingers.
At which point, I saw the driver was my boss’ boss’ boss.
I was gone the following Monday.
Is it just me or is the Mercedes logo on the front of nearly all their cars getting progressively bigger and bigger as time goes by? I remember when it used to just be a nice little metal hood ornament which could get torn off if you parked in the wrong neighborhood. These days it just screams “LOOK AT MY WEALTH! I’M DRIVING A MERCEDES!” Sad really.
I remember when engineers were an important segment of Mercedes-Benz customers.
I remember when engineers were an important part of Mercedes-Benz design.
Oh, Snap!
As to the loss of the gunsight, the current popularity of the grille logo probably started with the big SEC W126 coupes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mercedes-Benz_560_SEC_(front).png), but I believe it also now houses components for the radar-based cruise control, so a bigger radar dish ain’t necessarily a bad thing.
The in-your-face logo dates back to some of their most iconic vehicles. Look at an original Gullwing, for instance.
Nothing new. Quite the opposite, actually.
The large star on the grill used to be reserved for MB’s huge coupes and roadsters. It has now made its way across the entire lineup, save the E and S sedans. I, for one, hate it despite it looking good on cars that would otherwise look weak (C-Class). It used to denote the best mercedes, now it’s on all of them.
Your comment about the engine being “mostly carryover” had me thinking this would use a similar V8 to that in the SL63. Now I realize you mean carryover from the previous SL65, rather than the 63 to the 65. This will have the same V12 as before with some minor tweaks.
If it were a girl, you would say she has a pleasing personality, and then everyone would know she is fat and ugly.
Well I guess it’s appropriate.
As most Merc drivers seem to fall into one (1) demo profile: Fat Bastard.
Try Bald-Headed Fat Bastard.
THe V8 TT -is not able to get 621hp? Ok its no use talking to buyers. No one needs a v12tt or v8tt. Life is so unfair. Glad im joyous. I’ll take my attitude, humility and wisdom over any car, so life is good to me. See you on the road of life Sl65. ill be in the old Inline6 lighter 4 door. ill be the one daancing.
i think the top gear boys said it best… (paraphrasing)… “this is the best car to drive to a factory and then fire everyone…”
A Mitt Romney reference?