Price £72,500
MPG 36.7
Top speed 155mph
Rather amazingly the Mercedes-Benz SL400 is an entry-level model. It costs £72,500, which is almost three times the price of the average new car in Britain today (£28,973). However, it is still a good £10,000 cheaper than its near identical sister, the SL500 – the car which is one step above it in the Mercedes-Benz “pyramid of greatness”, as Ron Swanson would say. The SL500 has a V8 rather than a V6 engine, and those two extra cylinders will vroooooom it to 62mph in 4.6 seconds rather than the slovenly 5.2 seconds of the V6. If time is money, that half-second could be the most expensive you ever buy.
As the two cars are indistinguishable in all respects other than the size of their engines, opting for the “budget Benz” is also the fastest way you’ll find to save money – £10k in 0.5 seconds. And that certainly beats stealing ketchup sachets, bathing with a friend or wearing a jumper.
A Mercedes-Benz SL is the retirement present so many slave half their lives for. It’s the car they dream of parking by the clubhouse so they can flash the gold Rolex as they duff another ball into the rough. But this car is far too good to waste driving to the golf club. Those magic letters, SL, derive from the German Sport Leicht, or Sport Lightweight, and they’ve been applied to sports cars built by Mercedes since 1954. The first model to carry the suffix (it’s a prefix now) was the legendary gullwing 300SL – to many, the most beautiful sports car of all time. It had a steering wheel that pivoted to ease entry and bumpers were an optional extra. Since then, SL has applied to models spanning six design generations. The last of which is this, the SL400.
Owing to a pretty epic domestic admin cock-up (the inquiry into whether it was actually my fault or not has yet to be published), I had to drive from London to Salisbury and back, about 230 miles, after work, on a miserable Wednesday night. But such is the allure of the SL, I spent the whole day looking forward to it. I left at 8pm and got back after 1am, spending five hours pummelling through the dark in the company of a true knight of the road.
Despite the chill and the dark and the drizzle, I kept the folding roof down (that’s the law with convertibles). The Airscarf neck warmer (the car breathes warm air over your neck and shoulders – but not in a creepy way) and heated seats kept me toasty. This is a cruiser you can use all year round, and if you do decide to keep the roof up, its tinted glass panels can be darkened at the touch of a button. Other clever stuff includes the Magic Vision Control wipers which fire water out of the lip of the blade in both directions so no water is splashed on the windscreen – that loose spray may disrupt your visibility for a second or two. On the other hand it does mean you can’t have fun squirting cyclists.
The SL400 is fast and frugal – its twin-turbo 3-litre V6, paired with the seven-speed auto, churns out almost 37 miles to the gallon. It’s smooth, elegant, enviable. They’d love this at the club… I really must start working on my swing.
Win VIP tickets to the British Superbike Championships
To celebrate the screening of I, Superbiker V: Split Second on 30 March, Showcase Cinemas is giving you the chance to win a pair of VIP full-hospitality passes to this year’s British Superbike Championship. The prize includes spending the day with the GB Moto team, with free food and drinks all day. The Championship rounds take place across the country kicking off at Donnington Park on 4 April and culminating in a high-speed finale on 16 October. To enter please answer the question below and send your answer to martin.love@observer.co.uk by 5pm on Monday 30 March (terms and conditions available on request):
Who is the reigning 2014 British Superbike Champion competing this year?
a) Shane Byrne
b) Dan Linfoot
c) Josh Brookes
Book your tickets to I, Superbiker V here: showcasecinemas.co.uk
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166
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