Mercedes-Benz 560SL
Like some of the most iconic Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris, and Maseratis of yore, the two seater Benz powered by the flagship 5.5 liter V-8 of the late 80s fell someways short of the legend it espoused.
Automotive icons are seldom so long lived as the R107 which as a chassis started in the late 1960s and drove straight up to the start of 1990s. For the North American and Asian markets, the 560SL was supposed to be the grand finale that would epitomize the notion of owning a modern classic.
Yet as classic as the Benz was (and remains), it always had the feel of makeshift automobile.
How could I possibly mean that?
Don't get me wrong. As a Benz enthusiast, in my book, the R107 line (including the 560SL) ranks among the greatest cars ever made. But the panels looked like they never quite fit right, to mention nothing of the gaps that could swallow sparrows mid-flight.
What's more the car shook terribly without its top and with its roof it let in the rain through still more gaps which could be found where the window panes met the fixed glass of the removable hardtop.
Two speakers provided Mercedes' cheap excuse for a full audio system on their flagship roadster and heated seats were never made available. And on the subject of seats, the SL's were manually adjustable (minimally) and always seemed disproportionately big for the cabin.
Add some more injury, the signature helm sized steering wheel found its position fixed in the driver's lap, the trunk was good for a lady's purse, and did I mention that the interior was cramped and that the seats didn't adjust?
All of these character flaws could have been forgiven and forgotten were the 560SL's engine the same V8 found in the 560SEL flagship. But for whatever reason, the sound and performance that the 560SL gave was akin to that of the earlier 500 powerplant which featured a smaller 5.0 Liter, V8.
Straw picking? Hair splitting?
Anyone who has driven a 500 (SL, SEL, SEC) knows that as old fashioned, aluminum big-bloc V8s go, it pulled heroically, if with little drama as witnessed by a low-revving tachometer and mild engine roar.
The 560 engine as witnessed in the SEL sedan not only cut the 0-60 time from mid 8's to high 6's, it would scream like a banshee as it hit the red line.
So, one would figure that the SL - seemingly half the size of the S-Class sedan, less insulated and at least four hundred pounds lighter - would thrill the driver even more by harnessing the 560 powerplant and launching from 0-60 in perhaps six seconds flat with the roar of Wagnerian V8 chorus?
Nein!
The older 500's performance times remain along with the low drama. Sigh.
All that carping aside, the 560SL sure is pretty. About the prettiest boulevardier one could ever hope to buy for a mere $14,900 and to say nothing of getting such a low price for so high an icon.
source > Exotic Motors
