Denis,

I have owned the 450SLC, 380SLC and currently a 450SLC 5.0 limited edition. The 380 having less CC outputs higher BHP due to the fact that the hood, trunk lid and underbumpers are aluminium, together with the engine block being also alloy and lacking the cylinder liners which all reduces weight to the tune of over 280lbs. The bores are treated "a la vega" with silicon cristals and the valves are sodium-filled as the aircrafts. Funny thing these valves, despite being 0.9 mm thinner at the stem they are 2mm wider at the head. This with the 4-speed auto gearbox makes the 380 a superior car (except the 5.0).

The SLC are undoubtedly the most elegant of the Mercs and one the sweetest things in swervery, beautifully balanced handling, phenomenal grip on corners and most reliable.

When you floor the acelerator pedal the most gorgeous growl issues from somehwere deep in the tiger bay and when it does, the car seems to leap- except that the leap is soon over, while this goes on and on, a great surge that seems to tip the road down the car's gullet and turn the horizon bluer, as though a contracting universe were the essence of some new Daimler-Benz cosmological theory.

Of all the many fine models made by the Benz the SLC is undeniably glamorous - it whispers of soft summer evenings, of diner jackets and flowing gowns, of candle-lit supper parties and pleasant conversation. It speaks of affluence, certainly indulgence. It has panache and it is as heady as the best Champagne. But Healthy engines have healthy appetite.

Anthony