IIRC, the tests reprinted in the Gold Portfolio book consistently show the 500 a bit faster than the 560, and its power was rated higher--as one would expect, given the realities of 80's-era desmogging for the US market and the politics of power and speed versus economy in our market at that time. I've always assumed the extra displacement was MB's way of coming closer to the 500's power output in a US-spec car; after all, the entire reason for developing and marketing the 560 was to combat the gray market in 500s in the US and recapture high-margin US-market sales. Most of the rest of the world never saw the 560 at MB dealers.

As far as I know, R&T's test procedures have traditionally been about as objective as it gets; it's been a key value of their testing program ever since the days of John Bond himself. I remember the occasional discussion in the magazine on testing methods.

My observation in online listings is that 500s tend to lesser asking prices than comparable 560s (of course within the ability one has to discriminate on the basis of the info in a listing). It's reasonable to expect that in the US, since the 560 is a more widely known and understood commodity beyond the core cognoscenti and there's that ongoing perception of service issues on gray market cars.

__________________
Craig Bethune

'97 SL500, 40th anniversary edition

'04 Olds Bravada (SWMBO's)
'06 Lexus ES330
'89 560SL (sold)


SL--Anything else is just a Mercedes.
(Kudos to whoever said it first)