The Renntech CL600 is gone...
12-31-2005, 07:31 PM
#1
The Renntech CL600 is gone...
My 3-yr lease came up on my 2003 CL600, so it went back to the dealer yesterday. Since it was about $20K upside down on the lease at that point, it didn't make it that hard of a decision.
Great car, and I enjoyed it very much. There were two things that really dampened my spirits about it, though:
1) The rear suspension on these cars, and I've seen it subsequently mentioned in a lot of reviews, was never fully sorted out. Its hard to describe fully, and might be better on the 55s than the 600s, but the rear end was harsh over bumps and yet still felt under-damped for the ABC spring rates. I know its hard to be too harsh yet too soft, but that's what it felt like: maybe too much spring and not enough shock.
2) No limited slip differential. Unforgiveable in a car of this power level.
At the price point, even with the 600 having a slightly nicer interior than the 55, the interior is still a little low rent for a car that stickered at $140,000. Contract to the Bently Conti GT (though I don't care for that British style of interior myself), for example, or even the Audi S8 W12, which is cheaper. Not that bad, but still too close to a $60K S430 for my taste.
Then again, how much bad can you say about a 2-door, pillarless car with 600hp? You gotta love it still!
- Dave
Great car, and I enjoyed it very much. There were two things that really dampened my spirits about it, though:
1) The rear suspension on these cars, and I've seen it subsequently mentioned in a lot of reviews, was never fully sorted out. Its hard to describe fully, and might be better on the 55s than the 600s, but the rear end was harsh over bumps and yet still felt under-damped for the ABC spring rates. I know its hard to be too harsh yet too soft, but that's what it felt like: maybe too much spring and not enough shock.
2) No limited slip differential. Unforgiveable in a car of this power level.
At the price point, even with the 600 having a slightly nicer interior than the 55, the interior is still a little low rent for a car that stickered at $140,000. Contract to the Bently Conti GT (though I don't care for that British style of interior myself), for example, or even the Audi S8 W12, which is cheaper. Not that bad, but still too close to a $60K S430 for my taste.
Then again, how much bad can you say about a 2-door, pillarless car with 600hp? You gotta love it still!
- Dave
01-02-2006, 04:00 PM
#4
I figured no one vehicle could replace the CL600, so I ordered two :-) I got a new Supercharged Range Rover for the winters here and ordered a new Z06 for the summer.
Since I actually like working on cars as much or more than driving them, I also picked up a 1969 RS/SS 396 Camaro. I may or may not go ahead with the Z06 whenever its built, depending on whether I can bring the handling of the Camaro up to reasonable standards.
If they made a CL65 with 4-matic, that would have been a no-brainer for me!
Since I actually like working on cars as much or more than driving them, I also picked up a 1969 RS/SS 396 Camaro. I may or may not go ahead with the Z06 whenever its built, depending on whether I can bring the handling of the Camaro up to reasonable standards.
If they made a CL65 with 4-matic, that would have been a no-brainer for me!
01-02-2006, 07:39 PM
#5
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CL600 Sport
Originally Posted by davepl
I figured no one vehicle could replace the CL600, so I ordered two :-) I got a new Supercharged Range Rover for the winters here and ordered a new Z06 for the summer.
Since I actually like working on cars as much or more than driving them, I also picked up a 1969 RS/SS 396 Camaro. I may or may not go ahead with the Z06 whenever its built, depending on whether I can bring the handling of the Camaro up to reasonable standards.
If they made a CL65 with 4-matic, that would have been a no-brainer for me!
Since I actually like working on cars as much or more than driving them, I also picked up a 1969 RS/SS 396 Camaro. I may or may not go ahead with the Z06 whenever its built, depending on whether I can bring the handling of the Camaro up to reasonable standards.
If they made a CL65 with 4-matic, that would have been a no-brainer for me!
I too considered (albeit for a half second) the Z06 until my wife said, "and we'll take my car when we go somewhere together".
Although I haven't posted much on this site, I've read and learned a lot from reading your posts using the search function. This site is losing a great resource. Good luck and thank you for all your posts.
Regards,
David
