D.J.

hmm, if u ask me thatīs a shame. iīd love to have this thing with manual. oh, well what am i dreaming...

G1zm0

well, I thinkn its fine with an automatic, if you want a manual so badly buy a bimmer or porsche or something

D.J.

letīs get something clear first: i wont buy anything, because:
1. i dont have a driving license (yet, working on it )
2. there is very little possobility that iīll ever have a car like this

so, i was just "dreaming", and i donīt like any bimmer like this sl, maybe the porsche, but iīd really like to see this in manual. you know for streetracing and that

again, just dreaming...

Wolfman

Hi blkjack,

The mats come with the car so you should be good to go...

Post some pics when you get your car!

Wolfman

Wolfman

Hi nonly,

I am not sure extactly of what you are asking, but in the US every car must have cup holders, otherwise they are ridiculed by the automotive press and customers alike

The SL has two "flip-out"cup holders under the comand screen (I believe only one in a right hand drive car like the UK), but they also have a huge mug holder that plugs in the front part of the passenger seat (comes with the car in the US). This one holds the 1 liter (quart)+ size mugs that don't fit into the standard holders.

I actually use that one for normal size cups because they standard cup holders are worthless.

Unlike all other engineering excellence, Mercedes has been able to create lots of flimsy cheap looking and poorly working cup holders over the years

Wolfman

Wolfman

To G1zm0 & D.J.

In automatic mode (S or W) you can use the shifter a la tip-tronic to shift down, but the SL55 also has a manual ship mode (M) that allows to manually shift UP and DOWN, usually via the steering wheel paddles. I was actually surprised of how well the manual mode works. It's nice for a change...

Many may disagree with me when I write this, but I personally would not buy this car with a manual transmission. 20 years ago automatic transmissions were a true compromise; easy of use sacrificed performance and fuel efficiency with less than perfect shifting.
Today, these transmissions are fast shifting, have litttle lag and memorize the drivers driving habits. I believe that these automatic transmissions (SL55 speedshift) outperform drivers with manual transmissions 90% of the time.

Reason is that automatic shift times are now faster than most people can shift and that there are loads of people that don't have a clue how to drive a stickshift.

I also understand that Mercedes is developing a seven-speed automatic. We'll see how that goes...

Wolfman

D.J.

Yeah, i know itīs faster but the real racing feeling is gone. But if you have an option to have these steering paddles, i think thatīs better. You can still have auto transmission and the racing feeling stays (you know F1 and that ). Is this transmission the same as in 360 F1 and Alfa 147 Selespeed?

vraa

oh man.. this is crazzy!

KurumaGOD

who cares what kind of transmission its running...its a GREAT ride after all...

morebhp

In theory yes but nowhere near as fast as F1 in a 360. It has been my only dissapointment in the car - I hardly use it. I tend to use the tip on the gear level more. Speedshift is too slow.

That said with 500BHP it's hardly a problem, and the auto box does work very well in sensing your driving and making the right moves.

D.J.

I believe you. Just canīt imagine having the hands constantly on the wheel