Reactivated post? Let's go again then!
A small Hello from France!
Looking into informations about E320 SW as I plan to get mine from Germany next week (11/2004 - Amg - 37000 km) I came to this post, and I can give you some contribution on the SL60 AMG...
I came to MB getting my Father's 230CE around 1985, and I never quit MB since... The following one was 420 SE, then E 420 SW.
With the experience of V8's from the two 420 models, my dream was always to get an SL 500. I was looking occasionally around, without too much conviction, but still keeping the faith it could occur...
I then came to an add from Luxembourg about SL60 AMG, and I looked at the specs as this was less of a common model around here. The car was a demo unit 1995 from the Luxembourg dealer, and he had sent the car to AMG (who were still an independant company at that time) to have it transformed into the famous SL60 AMG version.
The travel to Luxembourg was worth having a look, and here I come to dicover the reality of the AMG design...
The icons are far from what you imagine!
Have a look at the pictures, and you will understand that what I expected as an SL 500 "slightly trimmed" was nothing to do with a trimming!
The 5 liters V8 is taken out from the car, totally disassembled, and rebuilt to a 6 liters V8 engine, made to give the torque, the horsepower, and the reliability even with such specs.
The suspension is also completely changed, with the car staying two inches closer to the ground.
The whole inside is also changed to red leather, including the optional hardtop roofing. (+ wheels, Tires, breaking...etc)
Now, the truth comes when you start the engine and listen to the sound. The car drives like a kart!
I do not know if you had this experience of expecting the car to reach the limit into a curve, and it does not move: Then you tell the experienced driver to show you where the limit is...and he shows you, but by that time you were sure to have lost it! This is the SL 60 AMG guys!
I have it since four years now, and the pleasure is still the same as the first day. 135000 km, with simply the normal maintenance by the dealer.
You cannot hurt this engine if you are not driving on race tracks every Sunday.
Let's give another start to this post!
Who gets one of those?
NB: I am a second hand MB buyer as I cannot imagine to pay the new price for such machine. The nice experience is that you can drive V8's on a daily basis when you just consider the price you get those cars after a few years and a model change!