I currently have an SL55, and the car is of course fast, and torquey. It has a V8 growl , like an old IROC Z and decent handling. At wide open throttle, the car sounds fantastic, with the high rev rumble of a muscle car.

Can someone who has driven the SL600 give me a comparison driving impression? All I have heard is that its more quiet. How quiet under wide open throttle?

Trimmer with the Renntech mods? Your impressions at wide open throttle?

Can you put the AMG quad exhaust on the SL600 and get back the rawness of the SL55?

Thanks.
SHank

 

Seems to me to be defeating the point of having a V12 if you then want to make it loud and raucous like the SL55. For my money, the SL55 delivers all the power and torque I could ever use. The SL600 is intended to be a real iron fist in a velvet glove where the SL55 is more brash and showy but still offers comparable performance.

I haven't driven a new SL600 and it has 100 bhp more than my existing one, but there's a marked difference in how a V12 delivers the power compared to the supercharged V8, specifically the V8 needs to be revved higher.

You talk elsewhere about trading up; you are trading up in that there will be fewer SL600s than SL55s, the V12 has always been a relatively rare beast. But, if resale bothers you at all, you need to expect even heavier depreciation from the V12 than the SL55.

 

Driving the 600 is almost a little eerie as there is virtually no engine feed back. With the top up, it's like accelerating in an electric train with very little exhaust note. Top down the exhaust note is deeper than the 55 at idle but, similar to the 500 but, a little more.. Friends have said it's a very distinct sound and they can recognize the car coming down the street from any other car by the exhaust note. With the SL65 transmission computer, the car downshifts while breaking and with the top down, there's a distinct burbling sound as the turbos and engine are winding down similar to a Porcshe turbo which I can only hear with the top down and under 20mph. To me, the 55's exhaust note makes it sound like the 55's engine isworking too hard especially compared to the 600's ease of acceleration and relatively quiet presence.

When I had the car up at RennTech, the boys seemed to think one could replace the exhaust with the 55's. They also offered to build a muffler for me with the quad exaust but, as I've said in previous posts, I prefer a quiet, wolf in sheeps clothing and stealthy ride. I also didn't want to be a guinea pig with exhaust note. One issue I've heard with aftermarket and even the 55's exhaust is the drone which can be quite tiring, at highway speeds....and have given some drivers a head-ache on long highway trips.The most noise I hear are the tires at highway and faster speeds which I don't particularly care for but, have to live with driving the Pilot Sports. I can't wait for a set of SO-3 Pole Positions!!

One point we noticed as the exaust pipe enters the muffler at the attachement point, the pipe appears to be pinched or actually smaller than the pipe and muffler entance. It definately looks like a bottle neck. Hartmut seemed to think that was a quick/easy way to reduce noise and he actually laughed at the engineering. Best guess the size was reduced by about 5% and was probably done on the assembly line.

 

I have to agree with you about previous V12 / 600's resale values being abismal but, this is a brand new engine with considerably more performance than the 500. From what I understand about previous 600's, the perfomance was just a tad better than the 500's and there was very little difference between the cars. I think as the world starts seeing and fully appreciating the new V12 it will become a highly saught after car not to mention the limited production compared to the 55. In my neighborhood (two blocks) there are at least 10 '03 and '04 SL's with four being 55's. I'm the only 600 but, my next door neighbor is taking delivery of his 600 next week. Also, in So. Florida there are new SL's everywhere and people still stop and ask if it's a real V12 or didn't even know MB made SL600's. We're more aware via the board and our love for the cars but, the world is still just finding out about the car. At almost every restaurant I go to, people are very noticebly looking and commenting on the car with two or three 55's and 500's parked right next to it.

It would be very interesting for some of the auto rags to do a head to head comparison of the 55 and 600 and even a RennTech 600 to get the word out... There's nothing like the smooth, torquey acceleration of a twin turbo V12!!!

 

Having owned an SL55 for about eight months before engine breakdowns cause me to dispose of it I can confirm the drone at highway speeds, which is in my opinion the car’s worst characteristic. I found it worst with the top up because the drone or hum becomes the dominant sound.

There actually was a head-to-head comparison of the 55 and 600 in the September 03 issue of Mercedes Enthusiast magazine. The result was pretty much what you’d expect with the 55 deemed more extroverted and better for winding roads, while the 600 is king of the autobahn. Zero to 100 MPH was measured at 9.8 seconds for the 55 and 9.2 for the 600.

 

I purchased a brilliant silver 2004 SL600 and by special arrangement took delivery on October 23rd at the factory in Singlefingen, Germany. I drove 1500 miles while in Europe including some exciting 140 mph+ autobahn routes. I've had two 2003 SL500's (hated the designo silver and replaced it with a brilliant silver) and found the sound of the 600 engine at idle to be instantly different. It is throaty and more resonant. Casual acceleration is effortless but the "burble" of the V12 is an indicator of the thunder released when you activate the twin turbos. The sound at 100 plus turbine like,not deafening. I traveled over 100 miles at 120 plus and didn't find the exhaust note tiring or offensive. The tire sound is much louder than the exhaust. The car arrived back in the states on December 10th. I've had the illuminated door sills installed and the car has been attracting lots of attention. My license tag in Texas is "600" I've had it reserved since 1981 when I sold my last "600" which was one of the Grand Mercedes 600's. I have two questions on the car:
1. Is there any way to inactivate the loud chiming that occurs when you open the door and before you can get the key in the ignition or punch the Keyless go?
2. the finish on the carpet logo (V12) is already wearing on the passenger side. Has anyone else noticed this? It seems like the material should be more durable and I've had very few passengers on that side.