When I was asked by a friend to “help with the transport” of his new exotic cars from Oregon to Los Angeles, it did not take any arm-twisting for me to agree.

Being a lifelong Mercedes aficionado, the idea of driving a Silver 2006 Mercedes SLR McLaren and a Red 2006 Mercedes SL65 down the Pacific Coast sounded like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it proved to be just that. Even my wife agreed to come along.

We flew out to Los Angeles and joined my friend and his wife for the drive to Oregon. We did this 1,000-mile trip in two days and felt very comfortable in their Mercedes ML, an ideal vehicle for four people and luggage for a long trip.

On the way up we decided to stop at Crater Lake National Park. By total coincidence, we were the last car allowed into the park before it closed for the winter.

The lake, surrounded by rugged pine forest and steep hillsides, is a sight to behold. We drove around the entire lake and stopped numerous times to take in the absolutely beautiful scenery.

The next day, after arriving in Oregon, we picked up the cars and prepared for our trip to LA. We scheduled to cover only approximately 350 miles each day, to enjoy the drive along the coast and have time to stop and take a lot of pictures.

DAY ONE
Just as the sun comes up we reach the summit of McKenzie pass and stop to take pictures of two cars caught in an unexpected snowfall. They looked like rare tropical birds in Siberia, but took it all in stride. The start of our journey had served us a sweet surprise.

The massive rear tires of the two high powered cars struggled to keep the cars on the pavement. Even though treating the gas pedal like a raw egg, it became clear, that without traction control we would not have been able to drive over the 5,200 ft mountain pass.

We were fortunate to find the downhill part with slowly warming temperatures and less snow cover.

We were impressed how well the two cars passed this rather unusual test. Surprisingly, we found the SL65 to be slightly more “nervous” in the snow than the SLR. The traction light on the SL came on a number of times, quickly correcting any slipping of the rear wheels. The SLR showed no traction interference whatsoever, is seemed unaffected by the funny white stuff under its wheels and, while slowly, rumbled along leaving fat tracks in the snow. No doubt the reason being that the car is laid out to be a front/midengine car, with its extremely long hood and the passengers sitting almost over the rear wheels.

While I would not recommend either car for a ski trip, a ski rack is available for the SL65 from Mercedes Benz. I cannot say the same for the SLR, even though 50 years ago you could order a ski rack for your Gullwing or SL Roadster, as you can see in the picture I took recently in Germany: Passing a 300SL on a ski trip, being driven on the Autobahn at a speed of approx. 110 mph!

We journeyed on through Eugene to Florence OR, where the two cars saw the Pacific Coast for the first time.

We continued on Route 101 to Brookings OR, just before the California border, where we stayed at a beautiful ocean front condo.

Little did we know that the highlight of our trip was waiting for us as we started out early the next morning.

DAY TWO

We had purposely laid out our trip to drive down Route 101, and later Route 1, bypassing major highways, to enjoy the scenic route with its many turns and vistas. Starting in Eureka CA, Route 101 South steers away from the coast for about 95 miles, only to meet Route 1 South to bring us back to the coast, near the town of Leggett CA.

The next 23 miles of Route 1, leading down to the shore, near Rockport CA, presented a major challenge to the drivers and at the same time the most fun of the entire trip.

Twenty-three miles of nothing but tight turns put the two super cars to an unexpected test. We were fortunate to encounter no traffic at all and slowly started to test the cars limits. This virtual rollercoaster ride was made for these cars. The shift levers on the steering wheel became an absolute necessity, since both hands were needed on the steering wheel, to throw the cars through the turns. While the SL65 was negotiating the turns in 2nd and 3rd gear, the SLR felt most comfortable in 3rd and 4th gear.

Almost every bend required a downshift to hold the car through the turn, with the massive torque pulling the car up the next short straight with an up shift, only to downshift again for the next sequence of turns.

It can only be described as an exhilarating experience, with the strange feeling that both cars were not even breathing hard and asking for more. The exhaust note of the SL65 became a deep growl, especially on deceleration, a rather pleasant change from the otherwise quiet and civilized sound.

The SLR produced a crescendo of the screaming supercharger up front and rumble under the seats from the open exhausts, a sound and feeling you cannot find in any other car. This is an intoxicating experience one cannot get enough of, combined with the absolute precision, and immediate response of the engine, the steering and the brakes. After driving various AMG cars (SL65, SL55, E55, C55) for long distances and over various roads, it is a surprise to find that there is a road-car which offers even more. The SLR is an unbelievable package of cutting edge performance. Its limits can only be approached on a race track.

The SL65 on the other hand, while not giving up much in performance to the SLR, offers the best of all worlds, with the retractable roof and its softer ride when called for.

We continued along the coast to Bodega Bay CA, where we stayed at the beautiful Sonoma Coast Villa.

DAY THREE

Route 1 took us over the Golden Gate Bridge and along the seventeen mile drive on the Monterey Peninsula to San Simeon CA, near the Hearst Castle. Here we experienced the most beautiful sunset of the trip and took many pictures of the cars in the twilight.

DAY FOUR

The final day of our trip took us home to Los Angeles. We stopped to visit the Santa Barbara Mission and had lunch at a fish restaurant on the Santa Barbara pier. It was an exciting trip, and we enjoyed every one of the 1,350 miles.

These cars are made to be driven and can be a lot of fun even in the restricted world of driving in the US, whether it is a short burst from 70 to 120 mph to pass slower traffic, or shifting down to 2nd gear to hold the car in a tight turn.

Both cars hold a sufficient amount of luggage, with the SL making up for the smaller trunk with space behind the seats, which is best utilized with a custom leather bag available from Mercedes.

We averaged 15 – 16 mpg, with the SLR consuming insignificantly more gasoline than the SL65, but having a longer range due to the larger tank.

All We Can Say:

Take your cars out and use them for what they are made for. Yes, they are precious metal, but even the fact that people stop and appreciate seeing a car like the SLR in the flesh, will bring pride and joy to the owner.

Just one more thing: When will Mercedes put a folding hardtop on the SLR? That's where the SL65 had the edge: we drove most of the trip top down, and we are talking end of October.

Eckart Scheffler
Croton-on-Hudson NY