SL55 is alot for fun than I expected

I picked up a SL55 alittle over a month ago (wife wanted an automatic convertable) and this car has turned out to be a lot of fun. I took the 18's off and put the 19" SL65 type wheels on, made a big difference. I car is fast, lets you down all way to thr rev limiter and for being so damn heavy it does not handle that bad once to get used to it. I have to abmit what I thought about these cars was wrong.
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enjoy! it's a great car.

i test drove it a couple times. and really wanted to buy one. i just couldn't get past the tranny though.

it's a damn shame the slushbox is the only option on the amg cars.

doody.

 

Isn't there any way to swap out the transmission? Might not make financial sense on a 55, but on a 65 another $15-20k might not be a dealbreaker.

 

i believe kleeman (?) quoted me 17K to swap the SL55 tranny for a stick. they hadn't done it before though and would have involved shipping the car to FL and back. and it would have violated all sorts of parts of the warranty, of course.

i couldn't come close to justifying it.

doody.

 

I think the current SLs are the best looking since the original Gullwing. Yes, and it is a BIG shame you can't get a manual gearbox with the AMG models.

 

i drove my friends sl55 extensively....nice fast cruiser...not a sports car in the 911, ferrari , lambo tradition...something to get to the country club or the weekend get away fast...also, its a nice highway commuter car,...nice handling for the weight, but you do feel its ridiculously heavy weight...with all the trend toward lightweight high tech materials for lighter and stronger cars, mb makes this porker....the car should weight at least 1000lbs less than it does...then you have a car that would give anything a run for its money....in our area, the sl is very popular and very common..i see more SLs than some japanese economy cars.....

 

Congrats. You'll love the car. Frankly, for the money it is much better than most of the exotics out there. You're just as fast, have torque up the a$$ and the friggin thing is bullet proof. Oh and oil changes every 9K miles.

Frankly the transmission analogy is 100% pure BS when talking about F1s vs autos. The F1 will shift at redline if you don't-as do autos. The auto body roll on the SL make the car exceptionally quick in cornering- you don't feel the weight.

And the torque............supercharged cubic inches matched to a 5 speed...makes it a rocket ship.

Frankly the weight comes in handy. I don't feel comfortable taking my spider over 130mph-it gets twitchy. The SL is smooth as a rock up to 155mph.

And it's nice to feel comfortable when driving your car and still have the performance pretty much equal to a 360 give or take.

And they come with cruise control and cup holders..................

You'll absolutely love the car, I had 16K miles on mine before I traded it on my Vanquish. FWIW the ONLY car I have ever regreted trading was my S 55.

 

I hear the new engine is a normally aspirated 520+ HP v8 with a 7 speed auto trans. Once that goes in and is turboed this car will be even more of a rocket. I keep toying with the idea of one as well but my last SL cost me 60k in depreciation in a few years. Once the SL65 hits 115 or so it (probably in a year) it will be one hell of a deal.

 

AMG is moving away from turboing.

 

nice choice... i love SL55 & 65s

i happended to have a change to play with the 580HP Carlsson SL55 a couple weeks ago and man ~ this thing has a lot of power

here is the car:

http://www.jimmy540i.com/580hpsl55.jpg

here is the engine:

http://www.jimmy540i.com/580hpsl55engine.jpg

 

Thanks guys, I think it makes a good companion for the 575. Since my wife can not drive a stick and does not like the way the F1 drive in auto mode (who does), I think this is the perfect car. Has all luxury stuff, massaging seats, voice operation, keyless go. My wife loves to break the tires loose.

 

nice choice, convertible hardtop is great

 

Congratulations to both you and your wife on a stunning GT luxury cruiser that hauls @SS!

Very sharp car. Thanks for your insight as a new owner

 

My CEO has the SL65 and he let me drive it when I visited in March, damn.... I get to go back in October and hopefully he will let me drive it again...

NICE SL55!!!! Love the wheels.....

Idea! Maybe I will try to get video of the next drive in the SL65.... Would anyone like to see that??

 

AMG is moving away from Superchargers to be precise.
Turbos are still used for new gen S65 and will be made with the new V8 6.3 as well.

 

You know....I don't think anybody would be against the idea.

Can't wait to see the video.