It has been a fun 25 year run with Porsche, 79 targa, 89 cab, 00Boxster S, 98 C2S. I just got tired of all of the idiosyncrisies and lack of luxury. I was close to ordering the new BMW 6, and considered P Turbo, but when I drove the SL55, I was blown away. I will always love Porsche and when they do a new one as sexy as the 993, I am sure i will return. I am hitting the big six-oh in Sept, and needed a new toy. Best regards to all=what a great bunch of guys on this board!! Larry

 

love is about idioscyncrisies.

 

Nice going! I love that pic of Michael Jordan leaving Washington DC for good in his black SL55 MB. That is one fine luxo-grand-cruiser-convertible. It's not the 0-60 3.6 sec bang you get from the SL 600, but who the heck needs THAT kind of performance???

Congrats. You're a lucky man.



Steve

 

very different car, but pretty cool. I can think of another car that accerates 50-100 mph like the sl55.

 

Larbaby2th,

Yes, as sleek and sexy a luxry cruiser as can be found. Congrats on your fine new car. BTW, at age 60 (3C in hex), you are but a boy. Congrats on your milestone.

 

I went the other way. I had my SL55 ordered, and then decided that a 993 would be more fun (I have an M5 for cruising), so I got me a RUF, and cancelled the SL55.

They are all great cars. The SL55 is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and the vario roof is a jaw-dropping piece of mechanical design perfection. I'm not much of a open-road guy, and the soft-top longevity, or lack thereof, bothers me. The coupe-to-convertible top is just the ticket in my book. I drove it at Infineon Raceway (Sears Point) last year during the AMG Challenge, and it's a very capable car, both on the the slalom and the track. Incredible torque and great brakes.

Actually, when the new (05MY) SLK comes out, I may revisit the matter, as it will have a similar (but improved, I was told) roof. The 6 cylinder version will come with a six speed manual. They will have rack and pinion steering instead of the age-old recirculating ball. I hope that would improve the numb road/steering feel in the Benzes. So if I get the new SLk 320, 6 speed, throw on a suspension system and a Kleemann SC (rated to 380hp), that could be a very fun/functional car. And much less $$$$ than it's SL55 brother.

In any case, congratulations and enjoy the SL55. It is an awesome car, and pics please.

CP

 

If you can afford it, see if you can get an SL600 but have them put the lower geared SL55 drive train in it

 

Excellent choice! I have been thinking of going the same way myself. The inside of that car is really amazing. I had a short test-drive in it a while back and was very taken by it. As mentioned above, completely different to the 993. Perhaps that is why it is so difficult to decide between the two? If only I had the $/garage space to have them both!

Good luck with that car, I'm sure you will have a great experience with it! Let us know how it works out for you.

 

Sorry for the double post...

Has anyone used the automatic speed control (not sure actually name) that MB offers? How well does that work? Worth the money?

 

On a list of top ten the Mercedes SL55 AMG is #1 for me. What a beautiful work of art. I would love to have one of those. Great choice you will definately enjoy all the great things on that car.

 

James,

The option is called 'Distronics'. It is an option for the cruise control.

In the old days, after you set the cruising speed and run up on traffic, you either cancel the cruise setting and resume after traffic clears, or manually lower the cruise speed, and then resume. Distronics senses the car location in front, and automatically eases the throttle/apply brakes to keep safe distance. After traffic clears, it automatically resumes prior cruising speed. It is a very convenient feature for long-distance cruising. My friend used it driving from Seattle to the Bay Area, and said it was wonderful. I believe it's a $2,700 option. It's not worth the $$ to me as I live in high traffic area and never use cruise control while driving.

CP

 

JMHO, but the Distronic removes yet another (important to me) aspect of driver interaction with the car. Of course, I virtually never use the cruise control, either, even on long trips.

You're going from a very involving car to one that is much less so (albeit a VERY nice one), so it might be interesting to try.

Enjoy the new car.

 

Thanks, so much for the nice comments. As I said, a bunch of neat classy guys. My car looks exactly the same as the one pictured in the post about Michael Jordan in this string of posts, but black leather. I drove a new C4S cab, tiptronic, and a stick regular cab for the first time today, to really see what it seemed like after driving the MB for a day. I loved the C4S, but would have to have it in stick. I think I could get one for about the same as the 03 MB, but I am sold on the luxury and brute torque of the MB-what an amazing combo and so many bells and whistles ie not just heated seats, but cooling seats and massaging seats, oh my!! The Porsches are fabulous and right now I need more pampering Again, thanks for all the nice schmoozing Larry