Crown

As far as I can remember, The Mercedes SL was never 'light' to start off with. since the R129 days. Even the R109 wasn't light either.

It had always been a GT car, not a sports car, so the weight makes it super stable as a highway cruiser. 

I had fond memories of the R129. When I was young I stole my dad's to go out at night and crammed 4 girls in the car leaving a night club in Hong Kong. I vaguely remembered it was 2 in the back, 2 in the front, or 1 in the front and 1 in the middle. With the hard top on. 

Don't say it isn't practical. 

Whoopsy:

I had fond memories of the R129. When I was young I stole my dad's to go out at night and crammed 4 girls in the car leaving a night club in Hong Kong. I vaguely remembered it was 2 in the back, 2 in the front, or 1 in the front and 1 in the middle. With the hard top on. 

Don't say it isn't practical. 

Tell us more

"Porsche....and Nothing else matters"

Whoopsy:

As far as I can remember, The Mercedes SL was never 'light' to start off with. since the R129 days. Even the R109 wasn't light either.

It had always been a GT car, not a sports car, so the weight makes it super stable as a highway cruiser. 

I had fond memories of the R129. When I was young I stole my dad's to go out at night and crammed 4 girls in the car leaving a night club in Hong Kong. I vaguely remembered it was 2 in the back, 2 in the front, or 1 in the front and 1 in the middle. With the hard top on. 

Don't say it isn't practical. 

 

 

Mate that is fantastic. I dreamt of doing that as a teenager in Brisbane, Australia. I thought that was all the car one needed in life. 

BTW a chap where i live once managed his brother snd three girls coming back home in a SLR. Now how the hell does that work?

reginos:

Whoopsy:

I had fond memories of the R129. When I was young I stole my dad's to go out at night and crammed 4 girls in the car leaving a night club in Hong Kong. I vaguely remembered it was 2 in the back, 2 in the front, or 1 in the front and 1 in the middle. With the hard top on. 

Don't say it isn't practical. 

Tell us more

 

 

There aren't any kids and tell dude 

996FourEss:

BTW a chap where i live once managed his brother snd three girls coming back home in a SLR. Now how the hell does that work?

When there is a will there is a way 

Also helps when back then girls are normal sized and none of the craze for Kardasian butts. 

996FourEss:

Best of Bruno Sacco.

They are aging so gracefully indeed.

1988 Peugeot 205 Rallye / 2004 Porsche 996 GT3 RS  / 2018 Mercedes-AMG E63 S / 2020 Ferrari 812SF

Whoopsy:

996FourEss:

BTW a chap where i live once managed his brother snd three girls coming back home in a SLR. Now how the hell does that work?

 

When there is a will there is a way 

Also helps when back then girls are normal sized and none of the craze for Kardasian butts. 

My dad had the 450 SEL. Plenty of room in that beast and he was in Europe while I was winding the Speedo up to 160 on open KS highways at 15. 
No more than one girl at a time back then. Lots of buddies like Gladstone back then. His dad, a respectable doctor, had the diesel Mercedes back then. 

what went wrong with PAG to have an SL shaped exactly as a 911?

GT Lover, Porsche fan

991.2 GT3 manual

Cayenne GTS 2014

I love the old SL, they had class and elegance like few open cars, the R129 ( the masterpiece of Sacco) is still today so much nicer than the moden SL, i think that they want 911 clients??? AMG gt is just so much better looking in my eyes.

I dont know, first impression is to much like a 911 shape and it lacks class and elegance, just to sporty!?!?!

But it must be a fantastic car to drive, and still dont get why it is a 4x4 ok it has almost 600hp...!!!

993 c2

I won't blame MB to try to copy the 911 layout but rather blaming PAG to release a bloated 911 that everyone can now copy with their car...more and more the past is the way to go. Smaller 911 remains unmatched.

On the other hand, the R129 is a very very cool and iconic car!

GT Lover, Porsche fan

991.2 GT3 manual

Cayenne GTS 2014

the-missile:

I won't blame MB to try to copy the 911 layout but rather blaming PAG to release a bloated 911 that everyone can now copy with their car...more and more the past is the way to go. Smaller 911 remains unmatched.

On the other hand, the R129 is a very very cool and iconic car!

Again the problems are the changing regulatory system and consumer preferences.  These are the culprits that have helped forced Porsche's design hands into making larger 911s.  Part of the bloat of the 922's rear directly results from the need to contain particulate filters within the limited engine compartment and retain performance.  That requires larger volume filters and when the engine is rear mounted, we know what the end result is for the 992.  

CGX car nut:

the-missile:

I won't blame MB to try to copy the 911 layout but rather blaming PAG to release a bloated 911 that everyone can now copy with their car...more and more the past is the way to go. Smaller 911 remains unmatched.

On the other hand, the R129 is a very very cool and iconic car!

Again the problems are the changing regulatory system and consumer preferences.  These are the culprits that have helped forced Porsche's design hands into making larger 911s.  Part of the bloat of the 922's rear directly results from the need to contain particulate filters within the limited engine compartment and retain performance.  That requires larger volume filters and when the engine is rear mounted, we know what the end result is for the 992.  

 Pedestrian and driver safety, other stuff, emissions and so on...to build smaller cars, you need to take serious money into your hands and the profit drops. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Lamborghini Huracan Performante (2019), Mercedes GLC63 S AMG (2020), Mercedes C63 S AMG Cab (2019), Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (2019 EU)

Indeed, it is all about the greed. Remember the end of 997 era when the demand was not as overheated as now and they were forced to produce 991 with much more advanced tech than previous versions. They got very lazy for 992 and went the cheap way. Now MB is producing a 4 seaters GT which looks nicer than 992. Shame. 

GT Lover, Porsche fan

991.2 GT3 manual

Cayenne GTS 2014

I'd pay to have that horrible fake plastic vent removed from the front fender. Otherwise, IMO it's a good looking car. 

RC:

CGX car nut:

the-missile:

I won't blame MB to try to copy the 911 layout but rather blaming PAG to release a bloated 911 that everyone can now copy with their car...more and more the past is the way to go. Smaller 911 remains unmatched.

On the other hand, the R129 is a very very cool and iconic car!

Again the problems are the changing regulatory system and consumer preferences.  These are the culprits that have helped forced Porsche's design hands into making larger 911s.  Part of the bloat of the 922's rear directly results from the need to contain particulate filters within the limited engine compartment and retain performance.  That requires larger volume filters and when the engine is rear mounted, we know what the end result is for the 992.  

 Pedestrian and driver safety, other stuff, emissions and so on...to build smaller cars, you need to take serious money into your hands and the profit drops. 

Between 991 and 992, the size increase is mostly at the waist, aka passenger compartment. Which is due to the ever increasing size of their customers in the USA market. 

911s have nothing under the bonnet, there is no need to increase the size or height there for pedestrians. 

The rear width wasn't THAT MUCH wider than a 991, plenty of room in the ass in a 911, especially if Porsche is willing to sacrifice the useless rear seat 'room'. 

992 is what happened when Porsche had to design a passenger cell to fit a 325lb driver and a 380lb passenger. 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

I am of average build, I fit perfectly fine in the original 911, the 964, the 993, the 996 and so on. Heck, it's perfectly roomy inside the 968, or the 928. 

With them making an SL out of a 911, I ma positively attracted to the new SL. Why buy a SL pretender when I can have a proper SL?

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 I like the new SL a lot, just not the price tag. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Lamborghini Huracan Performante (2019), BMW Z4 M40i (2022), Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (2019 EU)

Whoopsy:

RC:

CGX car nut:

the-missile:

I won't blame MB to try to copy the 911 layout but rather blaming PAG to release a bloated 911 that everyone can now copy with their car...more and more the past is the way to go. Smaller 911 remains unmatched.

On the other hand, the R129 is a very very cool and iconic car!

Again the problems are the changing regulatory system and consumer preferences.  These are the culprits that have helped forced Porsche's design hands into making larger 911s.  Part of the bloat of the 922's rear directly results from the need to contain particulate filters within the limited engine compartment and retain performance.  That requires larger volume filters and when the engine is rear mounted, we know what the end result is for the 992.  

 Pedestrian and driver safety, other stuff, emissions and so on...to build smaller cars, you need to take serious money into your hands and the profit drops. 

 

Between 991 and 992, the size increase is mostly at the waist, aka passenger compartment. Which is due to the ever increasing size of their customers in the USA market. 

911s have nothing under the bonnet, there is no need to increase the size or height there for pedestrians. 

The rear width wasn't THAT MUCH wider than a 991, plenty of room in the ass in a 911, especially if Porsche is willing to sacrifice the useless rear seat 'room'. 

992 is what happened when Porsche had to design a passenger cell to fit a 325lb driver and a 380lb passenger. 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

I am of average build, I fit perfectly fine in the original 911, the 964, the 993, the 996 and so on. Heck, it's perfectly roomy inside the 968, or the 928. 

With them making an SL out of a 911, I ma positively attracted to the new SL. Why buy a SL pretender when I can have a proper SL?

 

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Could it be that the size was increased to make room for the hardware and batteries of the upcoming hybrid and EV variants?

Second, there are new markets now outside the traditional ones in Europe and North America, where size matters. The larger the better. Next to the new Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins the pre-992 911s looked very meagre to the eyes of the new clientele. For those the Porsches of the bygone era are totally unknown and irrelevant.

For me the optimum size 911 is the 997. Ideal dimensions in every respect.

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"Porsche....and Nothing else matters"

I think the increase in size of cars is due to crash test regulations (bigger cars perform better), emmission regulations (that require more parts) and room to fit modern electronics and other systems. It has nothing to do with size of passengers imo. A smaller car with all these systems will be a lot more expensive and it won't perform as well in crash tests.

Having said that modern cars are way way safer than 80s cars for example so all this work/new systems and increase in size has paid off.

Not sure why though I still prefer older cars.

Hmm, seems like it is designed to a budget vs the old MB way of designing it right and then working out the cost. Also room in back much less than a 911, not to mention 1950 kgs…. Could have been competition perhaps but don't think they got it right. 

Why would anyone purchase a four cylinder SL?  There might be a market or two where it will sell adequately but the United States isn’t one of the them.  This is a status item not an economy-oriented car.  

Guys getting them for their wives?

Past-President, Porsche Club of America - Upper Canada Region

Taxes? 

997.2 4S / BMW 745e / Donkervoort GT 

Mithras:

Guys getting them for their wives?

But you still want to impress at the country club.  This car does scream out for the in-line six as it would harken back to its 300 SL heritage, not the more pedestrian 190 SL.  

Taxes are the only real advantage but then this isn’t an economy play.  

CGX car nut:

Mithras:

Guys getting them for their wives?

But you still want to impress at the country club.  This car does scream out for the in-line six as it would harken back to its 300 SL heritage, not the more pedestrian 190 SL.  

I agree. I am also somewhat puzzled about the claimed fuel consumption as it is higher than e.g. the current E-class with six-cylinder engines, and those come with AWD. So what reason is there to launch a 4-cylinder version for this car?

I can understand building more pedestrian cars with prime movers that fit within tax bands; however, the SL is a halo product for the entire Mercedes brand.  But there must be a perceived market niche for this product in the global markets.  

Well, after long considerations for a new daily driver, incl. a M3 CS, a Jaguar F-Type P575, a Landrover Defender V90 V8 and a Porsche 992 GT3 Touring, I actually arrived at the...new SL63 AMG. 

The decision wasn't easy, especially since I do not think that the SL63 AMG is priced well (too expensive).

Don't get me wrong, it is a fantastic car, fun to drive and faster than many imagine (this is not your dad's SL) but a well optioned SL63 AMG is around 205-220k EUR in Germany, so not exactly a bargain.

Since Mercedes Germany has introduced their new "agency" sales model last year, dealerships are not interesting anymore because they cannot offer any special deals or discounts anymore.

From time to time however, Mercedes offers some of their models with a discount and they offer them...ONLINE through their official online store.

So far, the most attractive discount for the SL63 has been 16%. Last month however, they offered a very limited number of cars with a whopping 26% discount. Mostly cars available in stock at factory dealerships, cars they wanted to get rid of them because of weird color combinations, Performance seats, lack of lift system and so on.

In the end, I ended up with getting this one. The red roof isn't exactly what I was looking for but it looks quite classy with the hightech silver (cirrus silver in the US?) color when you see it live. I've seen a similar car live last year. The silver has a slightly blueish hue, it looks quite nice.

Car has basically full options with the exception of the ceramic brakes, lift system and carbon exterior package.

It has the Burmester 3D Surround system (there are two Burmester available for the SL, this is the top tier version and considered one of the best HiFi systems in a car), aerodynamics package (active aerodynamics), Performance seats with microfibre (Alcantara) and red stitching all over the car, 21" rims and many many things more.
Car is worth 216k EUR, I got it for 160k EUR. I wanted to buy it but...not only did they offer a 26% discount but there was also a special lease offer "attached" to this offer I couldn't refuse. Just as a hint: The current lease offers Mercedes offers for the SL63 are 3x(!!!) more expensive. Insane. Also, the current discount has dropped to 9% only.

I love my current Z4 M40i as a daily driver, never thought I would and the SL63 is finally a more powerful version of the Z4. 

Getting the car (it is at a dealership 600 km away from my home) latest end of this month, before Easter. Let's just hope Easter is going to be sunny, so I am going to have the chance to run it in properly.

Why am I so excited to get a Mercedes SL? Well...drive one, you'll understand. Excellent grand tourer and it is probably the best sounding modern AMG Mercedes right now.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Lamborghini Huracan Performante (2019), BMW Z4 M40i (2022), Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (2019 EU)