jl88

http://www.imakenews.com/autospies/e...e000151492.cfm

to be replaced by the SL65

I really wonder wtf the germans are doing

b4chow

anyone know how much SL65 is?

Capi

what how much ? how much it will cost ? how much power the engine has ?

b4chow

i mean price-wise... sorry for not being more clear...

Capi

The CL65 will be @ ~ 200.000 Euro.

Thats not official, found that on a BMW Message Board.

The Poster was in Geneve at the Car Show.

Link

northbenz

Just keep in mind these are the same guys who promised us that the new CLK cabriolet would have a folding hard top. That said, has anyone attempted to confirm the reporting with their dealer? I can see how the new SL600 may be seen as too closely overlapping the SL55. Also I can see the marketing guys assuming that 50% of SL55 buyers will probably want to upgrade to the SL65 as soon as they can get out of their leases so there is a built in ready market for the car which (with the SL600 coming on line) will likely be built in smaller numbers anyway than the SL55 was.

Now the question that remains - for those holding onto their SL55's will they appreciate in value (or at least lose less in depreciation) more than they otherwise would have with SL55 production now ceasing? If so, it looks like a win-win situation all the way around.

palbertr

I think it will keep the prices up and I am happy because I have a deposit and contract on an SL 65

realcanuk

If there is any truth to the fact that the sl55 will be discontinued i think it is great news for current owners. As for myself i love the car and would much rather have the 55 over a 12 cylinder as it has more power than i will ever need. If the price of the sl65 is much higher as it surely will be that will enhance the value of the sl55 in my opinion.

realcanuk

zishan03

In a magazine here in England, they have spy shots of the SL65 and they say it will not be a car you can but just like that. You will have to buy an SL55 and basically take to/ book it into AMG yourself in order for it to be upgraded to a 65. The main visual difference is said to be that it has a front bumper similar to the CLK safety car or something like that. If I have time later I will type up the article as I do not have a scanner. Hope this helps someone.

Zishan

Bilal

yar, which magazine is it from?

zishan03

It is from the May 14th issue of Autocar. If you are gonna buy it you better hurry up as this is a weekly magazine so it will be taken off the shelves by the 21st-ish.

zishan03

I managed to scan the article but I have no idea how to host it!! Is there anyone who I can send it to who will put it up for others to see?

Thank You

internet_mafia

Well then technically they are not discontinuing the SL55 because what's to stop someone from buying a Sl55 and NOT getting the upgrade. I am not saying that your source is incorrect, but that program doesn't sound like something MB would implement. MB would not inconvience the customer like that. If something were to go wrong with car, who would you take it to, the Dealer or AMG? -- If so, I can see a several scenarios of finger-pointing between the two separate groups, leaving the customer stuck in the middle.

benznut

This seems to me as a highly doubtful rumor. They can't just discontinue the SL55. They would have to discontinue the whole 55 line (S and CL included).

This makes more sense if they are talking about the next generation S and CL, in about three years or so. In that case, the SL55 would also have to be discontinued, although it won't even be middle-aged by then.

Not that discontinuing the 55 engine family does not make sense at all. It is not like this engine was new from the ground up. It has been around for years in 500 guise, it has just been bored and supercharged.

And yes, the 55 and 600 models are way to close to each other for comfort.

I also heard that in the future we may have a naturally aspirated 6.3 liter V8 from AMG.

blueSL

Here's the article from Autocar. Usual ignorance from a staffer - "That should be enough for a 0-60 time of around 5 seconds" Excuse me? The SL55 is already better than that.

Bilal

thanks Zishan/BlueSL.

zishan03

I totally agree with you as I never said they were discontinuing the SL55, just that there will be an SL65 coming at some time or another.

kaneman

5.0 seconds 0-60?? The current SL-55 is faster than that already! That 5 should probably be a 4.

RJC

Automobile magazine had a piece on the new up-coming ML and said for the ML 55 there would be a 6.3 normally aspirated v8 producing close to 400 hp, even though the ML is always down a bit on power compared to the cars, this engine sounds like a good replacement for the clk55's 360 hp engine. The torque of the 6.3 should be big. They also said the new 500 engine will put out 320 hp in the ML. The new 3.7 will be the base engine.

vraa

Personally, i think there is NO way possible the 55 will be replaced with the 65. The 65 is a special order and you have to take a 600 to up it up. That's what i'm guessing will be the same situation here.

Wolfman

That the SL65 will be coming is already old news anyway. Here is another link which also introduces the new Brabus V12 (the real one, not the highly questionable 7.3l version mentioned on this board).

http://mbspy.bacosys.be/r230sl65.htm

As to the "replacement" of the SL55, just assume that this info is just plain nonsense.

1. The time window to bring a new model into production takes longer than 3 months for Mercedes, not just for tooling, but also documentation, training and all relevant logistics.
2. Mercedes does not abandon models short-term, period. Not even models (engines) that have received less than glorious press. They would also risk some serious backlash from influentual high-end (S,CL,Sl) 55 buyers.
3. The 55's are higher margin sales as the V8 engine is much cheaper to build than the V12, even though the new Bi-turbo is much simpler than the old V12's.
4. There are a fair number of people that would not opt for a V12.
5. As for the model year, the car will officially be introduced in March 04 in Geneva which will make this an 05 model.

Btw, what is interesting is that the Brabus V12 does not really have significant performance improvements though besides tuning they even increased the displacement from 5.5l to 6.3l. With that I don't mean hp or torque, but pure acceleration numbers. Anybody know why?

But you gotta love those brakes! 12 caliper brakes with (almost) 15" discs

Doctodd33

Hey Wolfman, that car in the link you posted looks like an SUV. It is very high up and there is a tremendous amount of room in the wheel wells.

T

vraa

It does but i assure you it's an SL. It just might be raised a little.

Wolfman

It is only raised two notches, but it's an odd setup anyway. Looks like a regular, non-AMG SL with a (according to Ronald) commercially available Safety Car
front bumper and some aftermarket exhaust pipes. The wheels look odd as they are non-staggered.

But I question the picture in the story anyway. There is really no reason to have a "disguised" test car when it is only an engine mod. on a currently available model. As seen with the CL65, the car looks just like the CL55 with upgraded wheels.
If they wanted to test a SL65, they could just put aSL55 sticker on the back and nobody could tell...

Wolfman

benznut

To me it looks that the wheels are much smaller than the ones that will/should go to the production car. they almost look collapsible, very similar to the tires and wheels in the test SLR. That should contribute to the raised appearance of the car.
The car is indeed a normal bodied SL with AMG front bumper and side fascias. The spied S65 was similarly bodied.

Who knows, it may be the final testing of the SLR for all we know.