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  • This is the new 2012 Mercedes SL500.

  • It's an icon because, for over half a century, it has defined

  • its own market segment.

  • Everything else is, and was, an SL rival.

  • Whereas, the SL, well--

  • it's always just the SL.

  • So perhaps the best way to understand the new SL is to

  • trace its heritage.

  • So when you're considering the origins of the Mercedes SL and

  • this [INAUDIBLE]

  • lightweight theme that runs through it, it's actually

  • quite hard not to think about the

  • origins of the word super-car.

  • Because I'm sitting a car now--

  • W198--

  • from 1957 that has acclaimed top speed of a figure of 150

  • miles an hour and 225 horse power.

  • To me, that sounds like pretty rampant

  • performance for the day.

  • I mean, what must this car have looked like

  • to people in 1957?

  • It still looks pretty futuristic now.

  • They must have just thought it was the

  • Millennium bloody Falcon.

  • It's an amazing car.

  • A really amazing car.

  • And do you know what?

  • Even though it created a dynasty of ruthless Mercedes

  • Benzes, it is a much more specialized car than anything

  • we have now with an SL badge on it.

  • Not to say they aren't special cars now.

  • They are.

  • But they are much more rounded and much more usable.

  • This is just wonderful.

  • Here we are, roof down in Spain.

  • I'm loving it.

  • It doesn't have much grip.

  • Steering wriggles around through this massive

  • Baker-like rimmed steering wheel.

  • The gear box is just lovely and precise.

  • It just clicks into place.

  • It's an absolute joy.

  • Now, I have no idea what this car is worth, other than the

  • fact that it's a big sum of money, but

  • it's worth every penny.

  • They dials are beautiful.

  • The chrome, the metal, the leather.

  • And that's before we even discuss the noise.

  • Third gear.

  • [CAR ENGINE ROARING]

  • Like a DB5 having its bits fondled.

  • It's just magnificent.

  • But the whole car is completely

  • glorious, and I'm in love.

  • [CAR DRIVING]

  • So what we have here is a W113 Mercedes 230 SL from 1968.

  • To you and I, it's known as the Pagoda.

  • Now, I've never driven one of these things before, so I'm

  • actually pretty excited.

  • I love Mercedes SLs.

  • And I've always looked at this from a distance as a really,

  • really elegant, beautiful piece of design.

  • Sitting in it now, it's a high quality item.

  • These really were premium pearls back in the day.

  • They were furiously, fearsomely expensive cars.

  • You can see why everything is either lovely words, painted

  • metal, or chrome, or actually leather.

  • So it's expensive.

  • I'm wearing no seat-belt and I'm sitting upright, quite

  • close to the screen.

  • And it's impossible to avoid or resist the inclination to

  • just hang an elbow off the door and cruise around.

  • To me, it doesn't feel like a scratching sports car.

  • Compared to a 1968 Porsche 911, this feels

  • much more the cruiser.

  • 2.3-D, just straight six engine,

  • lovely throttle response.

  • But you know what?

  • This great big steering wheel actually gives you very little

  • steering feel.

  • So everyone that goes on about steering feel being lost by

  • modern cars is, in fact, talking codswallop.

  • I suppose this car also infused in me a sense of not

  • wanting to go too fast.

  • Yes, it's a performance car.

  • But if I want to go quickly, this little 2.3 liter six

  • cylinder engine is lovely.

  • Listen to the noise.

  • Here we go.

  • I'll give you some noise.

  • [CAR ENGINE ROARING]

  • Delicious sounds and it's amazing how sharp

  • the response is.

  • But the SL is a car that doesn't want to be hurried.

  • Doesn't want to be hustled.

  • And this is quite a light car.

  • 1,295 kilograms and with that 150 horse power, sweet little

  • inline six.

  • 2.3 liters, remember.

  • It's honey.

  • Very responsive.

  • Mechanical fuel injection.

  • It's a lovely little drivers package.

  • Compared to an equivalent 911 of the era, this is much of a

  • sports car but probably with a much broader appeal.

  • It can scratch and go quite quickly if you want it to.

  • But really it's about just sitting back and

  • having a good time.

  • And enjoying this gear change, which is a little Swiss watch

  • in its operations.

  • It's a short throw, and you feel the

  • cogs meshing together.

  • I love this car.

  • It's really gorgeous.

  • [CAR DRIVING]

  • So in 1971, the cute little Pagoda W113 gave way to what

  • Mercedes internally called the R107.

  • Of course, to you and me it's the Bobby Ewing.

  • I don't know about you, but to me this is the definitive

  • Mercedes SL shape.

  • This car was built for 18 years.

  • That's the longest any Mercedes was ever built.

  • They didn't stop making it until 1988.

  • And the basic shape and styling stayed the same.

  • Even today, it looks fresh.

  • It's an absolute design classic.

  • Now, the funny thing is I've already driven

  • one of these before.

  • And it was a 500SL automatic.

  • That's the classic LA spec, isn't it?

  • A great big bruiser of a car.

  • You just stuck it in D. It went pretty fast.

  • It was a bit wallowy.

  • It wasn't a sports car in the conventional sense.

  • But it was a lovely way of getting around.

  • Today, rubbed my hands.

  • They said, have go in an R 107 and presented me with a red

  • manual 300SL.

  • And I just thought, oh no, this is just rubbish.

  • However, this is a bit of a revelation, this car.

  • I'm loving it.

  • 188 horse power from a three liter straight six.

  • 1,510 kilograms without the hard top on it.

  • It's not that quick.

  • The gearing is a bit too long, but it makes this lovely

  • straight six noise.

  • It's a great place to be.

  • You've got the heavily sprung seat and this enormous

  • steering wheel.

  • I mean, it really does steer with all the precision of a

  • great, big yacht.

  • But other than that, I think it's a lovely, lovely car.

  • [CAR DRIVING]

  • And so this is where all that knowledge and experience

  • culminates, the new R231 Mercedes SL class.

  • First impressions.

  • Well, it's bigger, physically bigger, and longer.

  • But it's lighter.

  • The car now has a twin-turbo V8.

  • This car has 435 horse power, 516 foot pounds of torque, and

  • it weighs 1,785 kilograms.

  • Do some maths, and you have a car that--

  • despite not being a dedicated AMG performance model--

  • has nearly the same power to weight ratio as a 2001 SL55.

  • It's a really, really fast car.

  • It absolutely shags it along.

  • Now that's kind of a good thing but also a slightly

  • awkward thing as well.

  • First of all, you have a level of effortless performance that

  • was just missing in the previous SL car.

  • You stroke this thing along in drive, leave the gear box in

  • its economy setting with the stop, start and gage and

  • everything, and it's really, really fast.

  • But it doesn't mean that the temptation is there to go

  • really quite quickly.

  • And then, this new SL, well, it presents who with a couple

  • of problems.

  • First of all, the steering is very light.

  • It's electric, and at low speed, that's great.

  • But at higher speed, you do you feel slightly detached

  • from the experience.

  • It's a shame because the rest of the chassis is so flipping

  • competent The right comfort is extraordinary.

  • You feel the strength and integrity of the structure of

  • the car and air suspension.

  • I don't bother with the sport mode.

  • Leave it in comfort, and you have got

  • the consummate cruiser.

  • The steering column is rock solid.

  • It doesn't feel like it's a convertible at all.

  • We have the lovely seven speed wet-clutch transmission. that

  • AMG calls speed shift.

  • It worked brilliantly with this gear box to give you a,

  • sort of, quasi AMG experience.

  • The noise is sensational, yet it's a

  • really, really fast car.

  • It's a car that you want to drive fast.

  • But when you get there it just feels, for me,

  • a little bit detached.

  • Is that a criticism that I should be

  • leveling it at an SL500?

  • Because, come on, people don't use this car to go and scratch

  • around race tracks, do they?

  • They use it to be able to just cruise wherever they want to.

  • Drive 1,000 miles roof up, roof down in utter comfort.

  • And this car in that role is still the best on sale.

  • It's remarkable.

  • In here, we're not really too worried about any buffeting

  • from the air outside.

  • It feels cocooned.

  • With the roof up, it's as quiet as a normal coupe.

  • I've got wind or air-scarf to warm the back of my neck.

  • I've got heated seats.

  • I've got this cabin, which to me is an unqualified success.

  • So let's talk about the styling then, because I think

  • the inside is an unqualified success, personally, I'm not

  • so sure about the outside.

  • I don't think it's a munter.

  • But equally, it's not a car that makes me think, oh god, I

  • got to have one of those-- like, say, the new Boxter.

  • So it's a bit tippy-toe on 18 inch wheels, as well.

  • So I do think it could look a little bit more-- for want of

  • a better word--

  • horny.

  • Now, if I've been a little bit less than blown away by this

  • car when you really try and get up it, let's put things in

  • perspective.

  • We know already that there's an SL63 coming, and that car

  • will fulfill that role.

  • I suppose, actually, if I flip it on its head, I was just

  • surprised at how fast this car was.

  • And that by the time I'd got up it and started going, that

  • the amount of just straight line performance perhaps not

  • overcame the chassis but I found it surprising.

  • No, all in all, pretty fine motor car.

  • [MUSIC]

This is the new 2012 Mercedes SL500.

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