SL55 vs. 360 spyder | FerrariChat

SL55 vs. 360 spyder

Discussion in '360/430' started by Jon@Tezta, Jan 29, 2004.

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  1. Jon@Tezta

    Jon@Tezta Formula Junior

    Dec 5, 2003
    918
    Hong Kong / Jakarta
    Full Name:
    Jonathan
  2. MarkPDX

    MarkPDX F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Apr 21, 2003
    15,111
    Gulf Coast

    How exciting, a guy in a supercharged Mercedes with an automatic transmission managed to push the gas hard enough to outrun a Ferrari between stop lights.
     
  3. Victory

    Victory Formula Junior

    Jan 28, 2004
    412
    Well he's got almost 500bhp in the bonnet. So nothing unusual.

    I drove my friend's SL55 AMG. OK it has a lot of torque and power but it feels bland. Not a car I want. My 360 still makes raise my hair whenever I drive it.
     
  4. F360@20

    F360@20 Karting

    Nov 24, 2003
    244
    San Diego
    O HELL NO! Showdown comoing soon.........
     
  5. Ron328

    Ron328 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 10, 2003
    2,615
    Willamette Valley, Oregon
    Full Name:
    Ron
    You maybe right Mark (re: the auto transmission)...although I remember when I checked out an SL55 a few months ago, the salesman showed me a sorta paddle-style shifter behind the steering wheel. So it maybe equipped with an SMG. I don't know. (Unless it is similar to the automatic version of the Mazda RX-8 that comes with a "paddle
    shifter.")
     
  6. maranello71

    maranello71 Formula 3

    Jan 23, 2004
    1,221
    Chicagoland
    Full Name:
    Andre
    Hey, next time one of these arrogant SL55 drivers sticks his nose out, just show them some figures I found in Germany -

    Hockenheim lap time:

    SL55 1'16''9
    F360 1'15''6

    Nürburgring lap time:

    SL55 8'15''
    F360 8'09''

    500BHP mean NOTHING if your car doesn't handle. My grandmother could floor the throttle on a SL55 and out-accelerate anyone in a straight line, but it takes a proper car and a proper driver to DRIVE where the road gets twisty.

    The SL55 is not a driver's car, and its owners are not real drivers. That's it.
     
  7. Cavallini

    Cavallini Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,835
    It seems the SL55 owner has the problem in his pants. Why else would his one wish in life be to race a Modena?

    But in the end, who cares? The one occasion I had to compare Ferraris ( a 575 and a 456) back to back, head to head, to Benz's, Bimmer's and Porsches, there was no comparison, on aesthetics alone. Porsche's looked like Volkswagens and MBs and BMWs just looked like boxes. The SL and the Z8 had some slight appeal, character, presence and style, but it was laughable in comparison. The Vanquish and the Maser's, surprisingly, held their own. BMW still hasn't made a car as beautiful as the 850, dynamics aside obviously.

    Who cares?


    JPR
     
  8. shmark

    shmark F1 Rookie

    Oct 31, 2003
    2,968
    Atlanta
    Full Name:
    Mark
    No doubt, a 360 is not a stoplight racer. Who would drag race a Ferrari? Wait, I know some of you have.... :)

    Did anyone check out the picture of the concept Camaro further down the page. I'm not a Chevy fan, but if they produced that car it would kill the new Mustang. Very nice.

    Mark
     
  9. ZINGARA 250GTL

    ZINGARA 250GTL F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jun 21, 2002
    17,499
    PA
    Full Name:
    Ken
    A while back I drove an SL55 and thought it was fast. Like one of the fellows I also thought it was bland. The cockpit was just like my wife's E320 with too many bells and whistles. Put a deposit on one and got in line. Christmas week wife and I went to Algar and I drove a nice "01 F-1 360. Did a curvy road, drove in auto mode, did acceleratrion. My wife also drove the car. Sadly, with all the bad weather, the 360 sits alone in our garage. My SL55 deposit sits in the bank. COME ON SPRING.
     
  10. udalmia

    udalmia Guest

    the sl55 isnt even in the same league as the ferrari imo, its not even a true sportscar, i would define it as more of a fastish sedan ( thats how it handles)
     
  11. ronsupercar

    ronsupercar Formula 3

    May 2, 2002
    1,576
    Orlando Fla.
    Full Name:
    4RE-Ron
    Ferrari 360 and the Mercedes SL...

    Two great car. Two totally different classes.. How many people who own Mercedes track their car..

    Give me a Ferrari any day.

    I'll take a Mercedes too.. My wife would need something cool to drive.:)
     
  12. johnw

    johnw Formula Junior

    Jun 19, 2002
    438
    toronto
    Full Name:
    john
    regardless of all the 'handling' comments, it's still crazy that a present day ferrari gets beat by an sl55. the reality of being on the road is most 'races' are not around corners they are in a straight line.

    and forget about 0-60, if they raced from 30 mph/h or above the sl would smoke the 360. my 03 cl55 feels so much faster than my 360 it's ridiculous.

    we need a faster ferrari.
     
  13. ronsupercar

    ronsupercar Formula 3

    May 2, 2002
    1,576
    Orlando Fla.
    Full Name:
    4RE-Ron
    Guys.
    We are all missing the point here.

    Isn't the AMG SL55 Turbo charged.. How can you brag about "barely" beating naturally aspirated Ferrari engine.

    Lets get a Turbo charged 360 and see how that Mercedes measures up then.
     
  14. Admiral Thrawn

    Admiral Thrawn F1 Rookie

    Jul 2, 2003
    3,932
    It's a shame the Ferrari owner wasn't driving a 550 / 575M; would have kicked the SL55's ass!
     
  15. VWH3RD

    VWH3RD Formula Junior

    Jan 22, 2003
    536
    Cherry Hill, NJ
    Having both cars in my garage I feel I have the ability to compare the two rather well!


    The 55 is a Great Car!

    My 00 360 F-1 is a great car!

    They are very different, they are both extremely fast and fun.

    The Benz is much easier to drive fast and is incredibly forgiving.

    I prefer to drive the 360 but if I had to choose just 1 car to keep it would be the SL 55.

    Another comparison is my P-car twin turbo. Again great car but I still think the 55 is a much better car
     
  16. madturk

    madturk Formula 3
    BANNED

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,508
    Williston, ND
    Full Name:
    Seyhan Kilincci
    My dad has one and he will floor it when stopped next to him. It's a really nice car BUT it's an old man's car. Very confy and elegant but that's it.
     
  17. johnw

    johnw Formula Junior

    Jun 19, 2002
    438
    toronto
    Full Name:
    john
    nobody's missing the point. we are comparing two stock cars. it doesn't matter if it's blown or not. the fact is there are too many cars on the road that my 360 cannot keep up with. yes yes, i know, in a straight line.......

    viper, z06, gallardo, murcielago, sl55, cl55, turbo, gt2 and others.

    i didn't buy my ferrari just because i like the way it's looks. i bought because i wanted one of the fastest cars on the road. it's my 2nd 360 and my 3rd ferrari (355), but it will be my last unless the new 'modena' has substantially more power.

    you guys need to stop blindly defending something that is clearly a soft spot on the car. if we don't speak up ferrari will not react. we need to let people, ie the dealers, know what we want.
     
  18. Admiral Thrawn

    Admiral Thrawn F1 Rookie

    Jul 2, 2003
    3,932
    Well the 360 first came out before the hp war picked up speed between BMW, Mercedes and some other manufacturers, so you can't really blame it; it is a 5 year old design after all... (but yes, the 360 replacement needs alot more power; somewhere in the 450 - 500hp range? using a V10?)
     
  19. Clax

    Clax Formula 3

    Oct 3, 2002
    1,611
    I agree with this statement. In my opinion, if the 360 successor doesn't have at least 500HP, substantially more torque than the existing engine, and can whallop just about anything in a straight line or on the track (short of a Murci, Enzo, Carrera GT, et al), then it will be a failure. If we keep telling Ferrari that "it doesn't matter how fast it goes in a straight line", then we're going to get a car that is not everything it could be. For those that talk about track racing as though that is all that matters, guess what? If the car is faster in a straight line, it will be faster around a track as well.

    There are some key questions that Ferrari needs to address, with respect to the competition it is facing. Does the car stay with an 8-cylinder engine? If so, they better do some pretty fancy engineering work to get the engine to 500HP. In Ferrari tradition, it will be normally aspirated, so acheiving that 500HP may be more difficult than some may think (especially if they keep the displacement small).

    If I was in charge of developing the next car, I would abandon the whole $150K niche altogether, and build a mid-engine 12 cylinder car, price it around $225K, and let the rest of the carmakers fight for $150K buyers.
     
  20. ronsupercar

    ronsupercar Formula 3

    May 2, 2002
    1,576
    Orlando Fla.
    Full Name:
    4RE-Ron
    You are absolutely correct. We'll have to wait and see what the Modena 400 will do.
     
  21. zjpj

    zjpj F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    6,124
    USA
    The problem is that it will be hard for them to recognize this need if they just look at their sales figures. They can't build enough 360s. What incentive do they have to make a significantly better replacement? Hopefully they will do it anyway...
     
  22. madturk

    madturk Formula 3
    BANNED

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,508
    Williston, ND
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    Seyhan Kilincci
    A Modena that has 500hp. sounds great. But it must still be a V8 with small displacement for it not to lose the Ferrari soul. I'll have to say good luck.
     
  23. JaguarXJ6

    JaguarXJ6 F1 Veteran

    Feb 12, 2003
    5,459
    Black Hawk, CO
    Full Name:
    Sunny
    I find it funny that in the real world, 5 seconds faster over the Nurburgring which is a course HOW LONG?... makes absolutely no difference at all.

    If your a professional driver extracting every last bit of performance out of the car then yes, the 360 gets top honors. The SL55 is no less of a car because its an auto and able to turn in nearly identical results. What happens if they put a manual in it, hmm?

    Its not that the 360 is any less of a car either, but that the SL55 excels in several different areas the least of which are straight line performance, luxury, and handling with a big block exhaust note. Edit: and you can put the top down too.

    Sunny
     
  24. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Oct 17, 2001
    33,014
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    Joe Mansion
    Three solutions :

    A small displacement engine : 4.2 good for 480 hp but still not torquey enough

    A bigger engine , maybe a 5.0 ? Or would that be too big ? With plenty of torque and around 500 Hp

    Or A turbo 4.2 engine ...Good for 500 HP and lots of torque ..but no longer a high revving engine..and no longer an amazing high pitched sound.

    A V10 would be too much..Where would that leave the Maranello replacement ??
     
  25. JaguarXJ6

    JaguarXJ6 F1 Veteran

    Feb 12, 2003
    5,459
    Black Hawk, CO
    Full Name:
    Sunny
    Is this what happens when you consume too many drugs? 5 seconds over 12 miles might be possible, but can you do it? Most of us can't, so why don't you take your bench racing and drive both and come back with a meaningful opinion.

    Sunny
     

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