The SL600 is a page from Mercedes’ overengineered past. It’s the kind of car that’s now like twenty times its original value, though if you find a well maintained one, you will avoid the huge associated parts bills.
Harry Metcalfe’s own SL600 is in tip-top shape and it’s the car he chose to cruise up and down the French Riviera.
There’s good reasoning behind the decision. It has plastic bumpers that can take parking damage, a surprisingly small turning circle and it’s very quiet at low revs, so you can cruise past open-air restaurants without disturbing anybody’s lunch.
When you do get it out on the autoroute, though, the big V12 lump’s close to 400 horsepower output and supreme smoothness come into play.
Towards the end of the video, there’s a part edited in from when the car was being driven in Germany. There, on an derestricted bit of autobahn, the car’s in-gear acceleration is demonstrated.
We say it’s a pretty good buy for £5,000 or €6,300 / ~$8,000 and struggle to think of anything similar and comparable on all fronts – maybe one of these?