Road Test
Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG
Test date 07 May 2008
Price as tested £102,075
For Quick and clever gearbox, precise steering, thunderous engine note, slick roof
AgainstPatchy low ride speed, gearbox paddles, crass cosmetic add-ons
New SLs do not come along very often. Since the model line’s 1954 inception, there have been only five generations.
The gullwing 300SL started life purely as a racing car, winning Le Mans in 1952, before its road-going variant was developed in ’54. That was replaced by the 300SL roadster in 1958; the cheaper 190SL was sold alongside these until they were replaced by the 230 in 1963. Further generations arrived in ’71, ’89 and 2001.
Road testing a Mercedes-Benz SL is always a special experience. Not only because the car’s legendary protracted life cycle makes it a rare opportunity, but also because the SL typically arrives decked out with some of the best in equipment, innovation and luxury that Mercedes has to offer.
The latest SL is a facelift of the fifth generation, produced since 2001, rather than an all-new model, but it justifies its inclusion here through the depths of the revisions – at least in the SL63 AMG guise you see here.
No other model in the facelifted SL range is more altered than this one. Chief among the changes is that the bruising old 5.4-litre supercharged V8 from the SL55 has gone, replaced by the much-liked 6.2-litre, normally aspirated V8 that AMG has been rolling out across many of its models since 2005.
We already thought the SL55 was a fine car. Can this one, with more power, a new gearbox and a revised chassis, be any better?
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