I was actually on the press launch for the Mercedes-Benz SL55 and that’s when I immediately fell for the car. It was such an upgrade over the previous R129 series cars, and comparing the outgoing car with the new one was like comparing a C3 Corvette with a C6. I liked the car so much that a few years later I ended up buying one.
That car was one of my favorites I have owned. The styling of this generation of the Mercedes SL, code R230, was to my eyes the best looking SL roadster since the original 300SL. The technology in the car, while not cutting edge, is still easily usable today and doesn’t really have any drawbacks (with the exception of the NAV system being less than awesome). Most SL55 AMG cars came with such niceties as massaging seats, a great audio system, and every other luxury item available on a car in the mid 2000s.
The performance of the SL55 was the equal of most supercars of the era. Yes, it has an automatic transmission, but in no way does that take away from the feeling of power from the engine or the athleticism of the chassis. The one I had was a tremendous amount of fun to drive with the traction and stability control systems tuned in such a way that you could hang the rear of the car out a bit in turns and throw the car around in the best possible way. Acceleration is very strong for the day with the car able to reach 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and a 1/4 mile time of 13 seconds flat. I almost forgot to mention that the 5.4 liter, single cam, 24-valve, supercharged V8, which features 493 horsepower and 516 pound feet of torque. Sounds awesome, right? And not very Mercedes like. The sound is addictive and will make you run it up to redline at every opportunity.
I took the car to Monterey Car Week in 2018 and it was the perfect car for any event I went to. It was equally suited for one of the black tie parties of the week as it was parked at the track or the parking lot at The Quail, which at that time was a car show itself.
My Pick of the Day is one of these epic cars, a 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This SL55 is painted in Brilliant Silver over a black leather interior. The car has covered a total of only 63,645 miles from new and looks to be in exceptional cosmetic condition.
The seller describes the car as having an interior that is luxurious and well-appointed, with high-quality materials and advanced technological features. It offers comfortable leather seating for two passengers. The car includes many technological features including a premium sound system, navigation system, and various driver-assistance features.
In 2003 the SL55 AMG had a base price of more than $180,000 which makes this example, with an asking price of $25,900, seem like quite a good deal. I don’t think there is a better deal on the market than a used SL55 AMG and this looks like a very nice example.
To view the listing for this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com, click here.
In my opinion It’s the less attractive of all the SL models…
From that model on, SL never was again the milestone in sport luxury cars…
Obviouly was a great upgrade in technology respecting R129 but not in design …
“In 2003 the SL55 AMG had a base price of more than $18,000 which makes this example, with an asking price of $25,900 seem like quite a good deal. ” – huh?
Thank you!