White Knight II

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I don't have any pictures of the Dodge truck. But it IS very nice.

evanichka

very nice cars and good pics

WyattH

Very impressive. I love the colors. I like your casa, too. Thanks for posting!!! Once again, VERY cool.

vraa

I like his house too! Looks very futuristic! I mean as in, simple on the outside, yet once you go inside you know you'll have fun!

White Knight II

I received a request for more photos of my Barchetta, but my sense is that downloading and viewing a lot of photos of one car can get a little boring. For those interested in this model of Ferrari, I reccommend

http://www.Barchetta.cc/All.Ferraris...ors/index.html

which has at least 100 photos of different Ferrari 550 Barchettas, along with a little history of some of them. it's quite engaging, since all the cars are exactly the same except for the incredible variation in colors presented. This photo collection is all the more interesting when you consider that the production run of 550 Barchettas was limited to 448 cars.

WyattH

Than upload some of all of your cars!

cgmike10

Sounds like a kids car? Must be a spoiled kid to be gettin a 120k+ car. Second, is a ferrari a kids car cause thats kinda loud too. Third, i dont know what the hell you are talking about when you say it sounds like a firebird. Its not as loud....and...there is definitely a little of that "Mercedes Sound" to it. Personally, when you are commanding 493hp you would think you want a little pep in the exhaust, and you would want people to notice the car.

If I could afford the SL55, I would slap on an eisenmann exhaust cause they sound absolutely great on that car! That would be a true head turner!!!

White Knight II

Well, cgmike10, I am neither a kid nor spoiled. If I were I kid, I suppose I would buy a car that was a "head-turner" (to use your phrase), but having matured quite a while ago, I now buy cars more for their effect on me than on those I drive by. As I said in an earler post, if I wanted to be noticed when I drive by (as apparently you do), I would have bought a Firebird. in yellow.

As to the noise that comes out of a Ferrari, I would guess you haven't gotten very close to one that was in operation. They are not loud. Indeed, a standard Ferrari 550 with factory exhaust makes no more noise than a standard Mercedes S600. I reached this conclusion after 18,000 miles in my F550 and 20,000 miles in my S600. What's your experience? And your age?

As to whether the SL55 is as loud as a Firebird, I now have about 4,000 miles on my SL55, and I am constantly reminded of a Firebird when I floor it or when I pass by a Firebird or other big bore V-8. But I don't have a Firebird, so I guess I could be wrong. How many miles do you have on YOUR Firebird? Or were all your observations just a lot of puerile hot air? (You could look it up - http://www.bartleby.com/62/20/P1202000.html)

Jano

After all that has been said about the SL55 and SL600, what about the all new coming SL65 AMG!!! A car with 603 hp and 1000 newton meters or 730 some pounds feet of toque from a V-12 bi-turbo engine?!!

Too bad it ain't coming to the USA...

I am guessing that the SL65 can't be a lounder car than the SL55 AMG car, since it is using a V-12 and not a V-8. But it is a assuringly not going to be quite as smooth as a SL600.

Can anyone recall the old the previous SL model with 7.3 liters from AMG with 525 hp? Such a car would be very intriguing to compare with today's SL55 AMG since both have nearly the same hp! As a side note, over 500 AMG cars were sold with this engine!

In anycase, with all due respect to all the forum members who praised or criticised the current SL55 AMG or SL600, the SL65 AMG car has got to be the ultimate Mercedes Benz. It will be somewhat refined as a SL600 but not quite edgy as the SL55 to my educated guess. The V-12 remains classic and supreme. And when any V-12 car is turned truly sporty (i.e. AMG) but with the refinement based on a Mercedes V-12 (i.e. 600), one has to pause and comtemplate:

What kind of car is the SL65 AMG?

It is without a doubt in my mind that the SL65 will cast a shadow on all supercars and luxury cars to come. The SL 65 is a thoroughbred of which very few of us will ever drive and much less see.

From what has been said here on this forum concerning the many issues with the SL55 And SL600, I can only thank everyone of you for your insight, knowledge, and imput into the "SL."

As the SL65 will have:

Performance beyond everything except for the most extreme sport cars (i.e. Bughatti Veyron 1000hp. $$$ very expensive).

Resale value (high since it will be very rare).

Refinement (since it be based on the 600 engine).

Options of leather and colors (beyond my knowledge).

All mean something... With all these issues floating here on this forum, what can be said or mentioned about the future SL65 AMG car?

jco-amg

The SL 65 will NOT be the top of the line performance Mercedes...the SLR will be. The SLR will certainly outform the SL 65...It will have equal or greater horsepower and weight around 1/3 less...it will ride on a carbon fibre tub as opposed to the Aluminum/steel unibody of the SL. The SL 65 will weight more than the SL55, will probably out perfrom it in a straight line but may not on a road course due to increased front end weight...those that have actually driven the R129 special SL 73 say it was a real handful with way too much push on hard cornering.

Some of the delay in SLR is certainly strategic on the part of MB...they have postponed final spec on the SLR until the release of both the Enzo and the Carrera GT...I can't wait to see these three go head to head

Jano

I suppose I should be more specific.

I consider the SL65 instead of the SLR "in general terms" to be the top of the line Mercedes Benz for few reasons:

a) It comes in left and right hand drive, the SLR will not.

b) It can be serviced at any official Mercedes-Benz dealer, I'm not sure about the SLR.

c) It won't cost arms and legs to buy like an SLR!

d) It has the same body style from that of lesser SL's (SL350/500) The SLR will come with one engine only and I don't consider it to be a main stream model. (Of which you may argue that the SL65 is hardly a main stream model since it isn't going to be sold in all markets (i.e. USA) and it's still very expensive.

e) The SLR and Maybach are models in another higher class.

f) SL65's will outsell more than SLR's!

Your disagreement or agreement is welcomed... and I know that my opinion is only what I think.... whether it's correct or not!

That's what a forum's all about

jco-amg

I agree that the SLR will be in aclass by itself ala the Maybach.

I remains to be seen regarding SL 65 production #s...SLR's are scheduled to be 500 per year...so not clear which will out sell which....SLR will be sold and serviced in the US by MB dealers...

No one knows yet if the SL 65 will come to the US and in what numbers or at what price....my biggest concern is the SL is already a very heavy car...I just don't see the performance advantage for what I want a car to do...especially since one could spend the similar money and get over 600 hp out off the SL 55 without the weight penalty

cgmike10

buddy...Ive been near more ferraris and driven more than you possibly know about. They are louder than a stock s600 and if you think otherwsie i dont know what to say.

White Knight II

"buddy...Ive been near more ferraris and driven more than you possibly know about."

Well, cgmike10 (buddy), so that you can know about the Ferraris I've driven, here's a list of those I have owned (it would be silly to try to list those I've "been near"):

275 GTB
365GTC4
365GTS4 (yes, a Daytona Spyder)
512 Boxer
355 Spyder
550 Maranello
550 PF Barchetta

And on the other side of the equation (MB V-12's), I have owned

600SEL
600CL
600CL (yes, two of them)
S600

While it is true that some of the Ferraris listed above are noisier than an S600, a stock Ferrari 550 is not, at least based on my experience.

Which Ferraris (or V12 MB's) have you owned? ("Been near" doesn't count for much, and "driven" isn't a lot better.)

Stricks

Love the discussions. Love my 600. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that an SL65 makes it into production and gets across the "pond" and into the states.

Jano

It's interesting that white knight likes to publicise his wealth to everyone here and to be the first person to say that the most refined engine of mercedes (600 V-12) is lounder than a 550 Ferrari. Ferrari's are not known for there quietness, but rather there loud, nice sound and efficiency...

While I don't own neither car nor have the money buy, I would rather see numbers in decibels as to how loud the 600 is to the 550 Ferrari in idle and full throttle pedal positions. This way opinions will matter less when compared to the facts.

cgmike10

Ferrari is what most people refer to as an exotic sports car. The s600 is softer than almost any ferrari even if it is quieter by a little bit.

Anyway, for those who want the SL65 but dont think it will make it across the "pond" im sure it wouldnt be impossible to important the sl65 engine and parts needed to turn your sl55 into an sl65 and im sure at least one company will do it.

JackStraw

I support White Knight II in his quest for a quieter SL55. While I understand that MB went to some effort to make the SL55 sound the way it does, I think the company should offer a quieter version as an option. Clearly the S55 and CL55 are not as loud as the SL55, so I am pretty sure that MB can tame the engine noise. I am less concerned than White Knight II with outward appearances. I am concerned with interior noise. While I have been assured that interior noise is acceptable in this vehicle, I am convinced that it is not as low as it can be.

benznut

quieter and louder are some perceptions that not always have to do with raw decibel measurements. It may be the pitch of the engine, the abundance of high-frequence components of the sounds, and almost complete lack of low-frequence "noises" may make a ferrari seem as quiet as an S600, although the Ferrari sings quite a different song. I have driven over 10 V12 engined cars for more than 500 kms each, and have owned two for more than 50,000 kms each. I tend to say that I recognize the sound of the MB V12 (W140) which is to say that it is non-existent most of the time. IN my opinion, comparing the exhaust of prancing horse with that of a three-pointed star is completely senseless, but a ferrari exhaust can sound smooth enough to compare, as i dais, because of the high frequence composition of it, which to the human ear is not registed as a "noise"

White Knight II

Benznut, you make a very important and useful point. It also brings to mind why I have been insisting on such a counter-intuitive concept - that a luxo Mercedes and a very high performance Ferrari have the same engine noise level.

I now realize that I have been talking about every day driving. I drive both cars to work (not at the same time). Some of my daily drive is freeway (and across the Golden Gate Bridge), some is city, and some is suburban. Very little of my daily drive is stop and go, and even less (at least during the week) is pedal-to-the-floor, tire smoking, cornering-on-two-wheels driving. Under these circumstances, the Ferrari 550 engine (so long as it has a stock exhaust) is not apprecably noisier than the S600. And on the occaisional sprint to get around someone (going from 40 to 70), the Ferrari engine is not particularly noisy.

My point (indeed my entire point) is that the same thing cannot be said of the SL55. Floor it to pass someone, and the whole world knows it.

When just cruising along, the SL55 engine intrudes more into the cabin that the Ferrari 550's does, which I think reflects your point. The latter aspect of the SL55 engine (noise during normal driving) is not very intrusive, and I don't find it particularly bothersome. But the "hey-look-at-me, I'm-driving-a-hot-car" noise that comes out of the back of an SL55 when you get on it I think is for kids.

Which is what I said a long time ago when I first posted a message on this subject. I have now said it enough times to have totally bored everyone (including myself), and probably convinced no one who doesn't own all three cars. And if you own all three of these cars (a) you're as nutty as I am, and (b) you already knew what I was talking about before this all started.

Let's drop it.

Bilal

Well, while I don't give a rats about S600 v 550 noise levels, what i do care about is the SL55 noise, im only 18 so it must be for kids. The first time I heard that car startup and drive off, I was stunned to hell.

and now that you have said that the stock SL55 exhaust is very loud, it totally negates the need for me, (God willing one day) to go to AMG and ask them to make it louder.

The SL55 is Mercedes' Sports car (if u can ignore the weight). Why don't we all just appreciate the car for what it is. I can't believe my eyes when I read some of the comments by owners describing how crap it is, I'm like pal, not EVERYONE can afford that car. I love the car, I don't know whats worse, road testers praising the BMW Z8 and 911 Turbo over it, or the actual SL55 owners bashing the crap out of an awesome machine,
Let's call this the BMWM5 forum.

jeeze!

JackStraw

This is not bashing. It is called constructive criticism.