Gefahrliche Kurve

Insanely high speeds, blisteringly quick acceleration and jaw dropping beauty often come with a price—and a prancing horse on the hood. Sure enough, the likes of the Ferrari 550 Maranello, as well as rivals like the Porsche 911 GT2 are some excellent examples of European style grand touring, where 300 kilometers per hour is a walk in the park and watching ladies swooning over the curvaceous sheet metal is like having a meal at McDonald’s.

Now what if there was a less expensive way—USD85,000 less than the Ferrari—to be part of this exclusive club and still have the same level of respect and veneration from all those who pass by? Take note—we’re not talking about cars like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution or the Nissan Skyline GTR which possess the supercar mechanicals but not the mouthwatering body. What we are referring to here is the new Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG. Although Mercedes isn’t known for doing anything cheaply, the SL55 a relative bargain compared to its rival from Maranello. With an estimated sticker price of USD130,000, the SL55 can easily out grunt any production sports car available on the planet with its supercharged 5.5-liter 24-valve V8.

Despite it being “only” a V8, the blown 476-hp engine out-horses the Aston Martin Vanquish’s 450-hp V12 power plant, while out-torquing the 5.5-liter V12 of the 550 Maranello: 572 Nm vs. 700 Nm—at 2650 rpm! In fact, the power plant is so strong that only the Lamborghini Murciélago can seriously out-power it, and only the Bentley Arnage can out-torque it, but no production car can do both. Despite the not-so-Licht 1,955 kilogram curb weight, the acceleration figures are un-Mercedes like: 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and 0-200 km/h in a little over 15 seconds.

While the Ferrari V12 shrieks its way to its redline, the SL55 behaves quite differently below 2500 rpm. Before the supercharger kicks in, the SL55 is as typical and sensible as any big engined grand tourer. Once the blower kicks in, the Merc changes from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde, accompanied by an unearthly howl loud enough to scare other traffic out of the SL’s path. Such is the level of auditory crescendo that this new Mercedes-Benz grand tourer produces. Now if there’s any doubt left as to the SL’s capabilities, just watch it lead every Formula One race this season—as the official safety car.

The SL55 stops just as sure-footedly as it goes, thanks to the Merc’s high-tech braking system. Called Sensotronic Brake Control, the SL is the first ever production car to employ a brake-by-wire system. The device eliminates the direct hydraulic connection between the brake pedal and the caliper by using a computer system that anticipates emergency braking. The pedal acts merely as a switch to the computer, which then activates the hydraulics for the enormous brake pads (twice as large as the SL500’s) to grind the SL55 to an accurate and precise halt each and every time. Moreover, the computer is so smart, it does everything but serve you coffee as it removes the jolting sensation during the last moments of braking and automatically dries the brakes during wet weather driving to ensure optimum braking performance.

The five-speed automatic transmission has been retuned and beefed-up to cope with the huge horsepower jump. Also present in the SL55 are F1-style paddle controls which reportedly operate with enough tick-tock accuracy to make stick-shift aficionados happy and content. Furthermore, the SL55’s AMG tuned-suspension system uses Merc’s active suspension system that takes into account the weight of each occupant (and luggage) and automatically sets the suspension dampers accordingly.

With electronic aids such as Electronic Stability Program that makes sure the car is always pointed in the intended direction by quelling oversteer and understeer, and Active Body Control that reduces body roll, the SL55 is as good in tight and flowing corners as it is devastatingly quick in a straight line. The chassis electronics, coupled with the 255/40 R 18 front and 285/35 R 18 rear tires, makes sure the SL55 can easily transfer all 476-bhp confidently onto the road surface whether it’s snow, dry or wet pavement.

Off for posing? The SL55 also has the SLK’s Vario-Roof system. The SL can turn itself from a very tight and snug coupe into a proper open-air grand tourer in just a matter of seconds. With the SL, Mercedes-Benz halved the time it takes for the roof to fold versus the SLK’s (16 seconds against 31) and it takes up only about one-fourth of the trunk space when folded up. That the SL is both hardtop coupe and roadster also makes it unique among its high-performance rivals.

The SL55’s cockpit puts Mercedes-Benz back into form in terms of interior fittings with leather, Alcantara and aluminum covering everything in sight. The overall look may be understated and austere, but no one does it better than Mercedes, and certainly no car could be more evidence of this than its flagship model. Proving that the SL is more than just an answer to critics, the company went further and put more curves and rounded edges than all the Merc models from the 1990s put together. Everything is ergonomically precise and easy, with the COMAND system that integrates the radio, GPS and mobile phone functions as the only possible exception.

There are two ways to look at the advent of the SL55 AMG. First, it signals a brand new era for Mercedes-Benz as a company, where form doesn’t play second fiddle to substance anymore and where technology and art form blend coherently into a car that’s desirable and practical, relaxed and fun, beautiful and frightening—as the driver desires. There are a few cars in the world that feel good at 300 kilometers per hour, and some that look great just standing still, but the SL55 AMG does both with a vengeance. Second, this GT could be Merc’s in-your-face answer to Ferrari and Porsche, attempting to win in some bedroom poster space along with other dreamy marques and effectively whetting the public’s appetite for the upcoming McLaren-Mercedes SLR exotic super car.

Editor’s Note: the title literally means: Dangerous Curve. Just thought you guys would like to know.

By Ulysses Ang | Photos Courtesy of DaimlerChrysler AG
Originally Published in February 2002 Issue