1993 Mercedes-Benz 600SL Is V-12 Royalty

From the April 1993 issue car and driver.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is not even respected for her fashion sense, immense wealth, and lawn bowling prowess. Her subjects revere her for the impeccable breeding and heritage that she and centuries of British royalty represent (or at least once were). The Queen is a world leader when manners, sophistication, and class are concerned, not to mention sensible shoes.

Similarly, Mercedes-Benz’s new 600SL is appreciated not for its flashy styling, hefty price tag and supercar performance, but for the understated and over-engineered way in which these qualities are integrated. In terms of class and sophistication, the 600SL also leads the world.

Mercedes took the 500SL, a top-of-the-line two-seat Grand Touring convertible that it likened to a modern-day Duesenberg SJ in December 1989 road tests, and praised it for its smoothness, speed and quietness, or “V-12ness.” SLs have always been very expensive and the 600 is no exception. Simply put, anyone reading this is only slightly less likely to be crowned British throne than owning this car Mercedes is a 900 wealthy American with his 2 of the checks It says that there is an opportunity to write in small letters on the line. 132,000 $190 Not a cent.

That total, of course, includes an integrated cell phone, 6-disc CD changer, adaptive damping control, and heated seats, all of which cost extra on the 500SL. Lumbar adjustable seats and a choice of colors are the only options left.

These people have the best. The more expensive Rolle, Bentley, and Aston Martin convertibles probably offer better status in some industries, but are significantly less engineered.

This Mercedes is not a conspicuous consumer car. It has a 600SL badging on the trunk, two small V-12 emblems on the front fenders, and a long front bumper. This is all that distinguishes this car from his 300SL.

Inside, V-12 SL’s extra walnut veneer is used lavishly. A walnut rolltop cover hides the console-mounted ashtray and cassette tape holder, and the leather-covered shifter has a wood-covered shank. Mercedes’ extraordinary ability to cover such complex surfaces with real wood is remarkable.

Inside and out, this is one of the most elegant and beautiful shapes on the road. Only minimal details adorn the long, majestic bonnet and short deck – the classic ‘cab back’ shape. The car is three years old, but its styling has remained contemporary for years. The form-fitting aluminum top and the incredibly complex, fully automatic soft top are benchmarks in the convertible industry. Still, the real “value” lies just under that long hood.

In moving Mercedes’ top-drawer 48-valve 6.0-liter V-12 from the S-Class to the SL’s smaller quarters, modifications were made to the oil sump, manifold, air filter and accessory drive. Luckily, all of that his 389 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque survived the move. The front bumper has been lengthened slightly to provide an additional 2 inches of crash space to ensure impact resistance with the larger engine.

So what is it like to drive? special. Like a nuclear hovercraft. Like Concorde and Shinkansen. Amazing. To talk about numbers is to bourgeoisize experience. Suffice it to say that the Mercedes-Benz 600SL is faster than the Ferrari 348tb, the BMW M5 and many other exotic sports and his GT cars.

In SL, it’s not about speed, it’s about how much speed you can achieve. Some editors here were shocked to hear the staggering performance numbers. Because the car is so smooth and quiet that I don’t think it’s a super high performance car.

A long straight push on the accelerator to the floor eliminates the wheel spin squeak. You’ll exceed most speed limits in the time it takes to speed dial your broker. Before the answering machine answers (no multi-valve banshee howls, so you can hear him just fine), he’s nearly doubled at the limit. By the time IBM finishes recording sales orders, keep your feet in and the speedometer needle will quietly come to a halt at the controlled 155 mph limit. Your heart rate doesn’t get too high and your palms don’t get sweaty. That’s because without the aerodynamic lift and slip found in slow cars above 150 mph, the 600SL stays firmly on the road and the steering wheel quietly stops. is. your hands.

With a surprisingly stiff body and 2.5 tonnes of road-supporting weight, it offers the smoothest, most supple ride of any 99-inch wheelbase convertible in existence. However, asking those 4524 pounds to change direction quickly has bad physical consequences. Running a gymkhana on a 600SL is like asking Her Majesty to run a bootcamp obstacle course. However, loose high-speed corners are calmly navigated, and the big brakes are well up to the task of slowing you down before entering the tightest corners. The 600SL is equipped with the S-Class computer-controlled braking system that reduces rear brake pressure during cornering to extend limit braking before ABS intervenes.

With 315 horsepower, the 500SL is undoubtedly an excellent car for the pure driving enthusiast. In the truck, it’s about a second slower to 60 miles per hour, but 300 pounds lighter on the scale and feels like rushing down winding mountain roads. The V-8 inherently emits a less smooth, more instinctive and sportier sounding exhaust note.

Is the 600SL the perfect car with no room for improvement? Is the Queen invincible? The Havens No. cockpit ergonomics remain German unintuitive and require a thorough study of the owner’s manual to fully understand. In winter, the climate control system blows cold air in until the heater his core warms up (most current systems are intelligent enough to wait). Partial-throttle upshifts are pretty abrupt, some buttons and switches require a lot of force, and the seat backs are too flat and stiff.

Obviously, owning a car like this cannot be reasonably rationalized. But it’s the best, and being rich means you don’t have to rationalize.There’s only one Queen of England and only one 600SL. God save her queen and her little red car.

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counterpoint

The 500SL offers all the car fun known to man, including the world’s most effortless convertible top. What makes the $24,000 600SL better? What about effortless speed? The 500 is fast, but the 600 is faster and doesn’t make you out of breath. The V-12 offers a sharp getaway from rest without the jerky first gear kickdown. Also on the highway, a light touch on the right pedal provides more pull than most cars offer when trying to shove the accelerator into the floor. I don’t know, but it sure is great. —chaba exchange

I have a hard time reconciling my emotional reaction to the 600SL with my objective perception. I mean, the SL doesn’t really need a V-12 engine he’s a 6 liter just to move two people. But in a day on this wonderful vehicle, he can shatter these sensible arguments to pieces. Its smoothness, robustness, strength and mechanical harmonies are wonderfully intoxicating. Despite the price, Mercedes must move them all. —Barry Winfield

I always wonder what Barry Bonds had to sacrifice to buy a 600SL. He has to play his entire 3 baseball games!He will spend his 6 hours or his 7 hours and maybe he will have 16 at-bats. But hey, with a short list of cars to kill for, I would get in the ring with Mike Tyson for this one. ?) You need to fill this space. Shelves behind seats in 132 grounds must be lined with something other than cotton carpet. For example, how about a gold fleece? —Steve Spence