SL600 Vs. dumb teenager in crappy car








If that kid had a turbo or a little more work than a CAI and exhuast, you may have not posted this.
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Of course their are exceptions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCs0uAHOSK8
I have a personal vendetta against the older ones. Look great, love the options, but whats the deal with the power from a V12?
Before I bought the CLK 430 I test drove one and was not to happy.... Too much money for such little go... Sorry man, still love everything else about them.
I have a personal vendetta against the older ones. Look great, love the options, but whats the deal with the power from a V12?
Before I bought the CLK 430 I test drove one and was not to happy.... Too much money for such little go... Sorry man, still love everything else about them.

As for the vendetta with the old V12...that motor was developed in the 80's and released in the early 90's. It has power anywhere and everywhere in the power band, making something along the lines of 75% of its torque from the get go, if I recall correctly. Today, Pagani still uses a variant of it in their Zonda. Says something, no? Plus, the SL cost what a CLK430 did at the time I got it.
So...no offense taken, just throwing in my two cents. I uploaded a few new photos if you are a fan of the body style. Click on the photo in my sig to go to the gallery page.













I drove a SL600 (1998 model) similar to your old one. At the time, I was thinking of trading my old C36 AMG to it. My impressions were:
-Heavy (what was it over two tons?)
-Soft springs
-Too quiet
-Very Smooth
-Very pretty
-Geared very tall
-Accelleration was less than I would have expected for a V12 with 390 hp.
-Overall, nice car but not for me.
It did feel like it might be really good on top end but I never got it over 120. I concluded that either it had less than 390hp or AMG was sandbagging when they rated the old C36 at 275, lol. I did not trade. I would like to try a SL65, I have a feeling that after driving an AMG it sort of spoils you for all the other MB's.
Still, it is fun to shut down the tennis shoe punks off and on when you get the opportunity, no matter what you drive. Good one... Bravo.
The Miata comment is irrelevant. You modify any car to outrun another. I can strip out my interior, hook up a wet hundred shot of nitrous, and melt a blown Miata's bumper off from my exhaust. Apples to oranges my friend.

Even with BPU, I don't exactly see a C36 keeping up in a straight. They trap what, in the mid/high 90's stock? Handling wise, however, the C36 is the more balanced car. Although the SL has an incredibly sharp turning radius, you feel the weight when putting it through its paces on a windy stretch. It feels at home on the highway, not in the corners. A light seasoning of power breaking and some grippy rubber will give it a good launch, but the weight is felt there as well. So comparing those two, it depends entirely on what you seek in a car. I am a huge W202 fan by the way. Saw a factory C36 wide body for sale on some Japanese site recently. Drool.
What this car needs is some basic tuning and a half ton reduction in weight. Are there faster cars out there in the same price range, you bet. Are there more luxurious ones, you can bank on that two. But very few cars match the overall effect of an R129, from the crisp lines down to the triple digit pull and vault like security...all while top down.
Cheers.



