Imagine standing at the side of the road and seeing an unending procession of 300SL’s, Gullwings and Roadsters, passing by.

When the group stopped for lunch, all 83 cars lined up in the town’s central square, where the public was invited to look and enjoy these wonderful cars, one more beautiful than the other.

The SL55 blended in very nicely and was admired by many 300SL owners and spectators, especially with the very attractive performance package and its beautiful 19” wheels.

The weather cooperated mostly in the morning of each day; the afternoons saw the roadster tops being raised in the rain, except on the car of the president of the German 300 SL club, which is a re-creation of the SLS race car without a convertible top.

It rained the better part of the afternoon, but he and his wife braved the weather in good spirit and, I guess, rather wet.

After a fabulous gala event on Saturday night, and farewell breakfast Sunday morning, everyone packed their cars (with their rather limited trunk space) and it was time to say Good Bye.

I headed South again on the Autobahn, with surprisingly little traffic in the morning, passing a number of 300SL’s on their way home.

An eager Porsche driver started trailing the SL55 closely, but had difficulty keeping up when traffic cleared. Whenever I had to slow down for slower traffic in the left lane, he came storming up behind me in a rather pushy way, pretending to be the faster car wanting to pass. The same happened on downhill sections, where I had the feeling he drove to his or his cars ability, only to find out that he could not quite pass me.

With a long 3 lane, up-hill section coming up, I could not resist but to toy with him. When traffic cleared, and he was again on my tail, I moved over into the middle lane to indicate, that I give up and let him pass. He immediately started accelerating, only to get an earful of an SL55 under full acceleration, after I had shifted down one gear. Very soon he was a rather small spot in my rearview mirror and I never saw him again. I assume he got off at the next exit to calm down and was crying in his beer.

I encountered heavy Sunday afternoon traffic near Wuerzburg and decided to enjoy the beautiful day and put the top down for the rest of the trip. Again I was able to move at high speed after traffic cleared, enjoying the wonderful sound of the car.

All too soon it was time to return this wonderful machine to AMG, after which my rented C-class Mercedes felt like a bicycle.

In my book: THE SL55 HAS NO PEERS. PERIOD.

Yes, the other SL’s in the 230 series come close in many ways, but none offers the best of all possible worlds like the SL55.

The versatility of the car with the folding top makes it two in one. In areas like the Northeast, where we have real convertible days only during the summer month, the car extends the season by many days, since with the push of the button you are ready for the rays. The solid feel of the car and all that power under your foot rounds out the package.

I love the SL500, it has basically all you want and is by no means underpowered. To take this beautiful package and add 80 horses plus some additional refinements (the new SL550) will make you want to upgrade. But I warn you: Do not drive an SL55 after you bought an SL550, since you will (at least in my book) regret your decision.

“But why do I need all this power in our land of speed limits”?

My answer: “You don’t NEED it, but you WANT it after you experience it!”

The high-speed German Autobahn runs are great fun and somewhat of an adrenaline rush, but there is so much more. The look, the feel, and THE SOUND, Oh My God (for OMG) the sound! Plus the way the SL55 does what I call short spurts (and that’s what driving fun in every-day traffic has come to, no matter in what country you are) gives a sense of driving enjoyment and satisfaction, which – yes – money can buy, even if it comes at a price.

Add a Sunday drive through your favorite “twisties” with the top down, feeling the solid structure and precision of the car in every turn. You quickly forget that you are driving a heavy car and use the paddles on the steering wheel to keep the engine in the right rpm-range.

The SL65, with it’s silky smooth V-12 and even more horsepower, is the ultimate SL to many people, however if you are looking for the FUN-FACTOR you need the double-nickel on your trunk lid of your SL, and will never look back, except for watching those shrinking small spots in your rear view mirror.

It’s good to be the King !

© Copyright 2006, Eckart A.Scheffler. All rights reserved.
Photos and text may not be reproduced without written permission from the author.

Part of this article was published in the SLMarket Letter (http://www.slmarket.com) and the Private Lounge of the AMG website (www.Mercedes-AMG.com)

If you would like to receive advise or help with European Delivery, auto-related travel in Europe or learn more about my experience with many other Mercedes and especially AMG models, please contact me at easchef@aol.com.

About the author
Eckart Scheffler, a lifelong Mercedes-Benz enthusiast, sends us this report from a recent trip to Germany to visit the sparkling new Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Maybach Center of Excellence. An early retirement from the publishing business has allowed Mr. Scheffler to indulge in his passion for these great cars. In addition to playing with an ever changing collection of Mercedes, he is a freelance writer with an experienced view on the world of performance cars.

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