NAIAS: 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550
“SL” traditionally stood for “Sport Leicht” or “Sport Light”, but the last SL to be truly worthy of that name was the original 300SL. With aluminum-intensive construction, the new SL is meant to be considerably lighter — 275 pounds, SL550 v. SL550 — than its remarkably chunky predecessor. “Light” is relative. With a 429-horsepower V-8, the SL550 will be quick. So “Sport”, too, after a fashion.
The hilarity came when Mercedes reps made a claim about the SL that is unlikely to ever be true…
“Investment.” It was pointed out that the increase in value of original 300SL Gullwings has beaten the Dow Jones Index over the past fifty-some years. “The SL is an investment.” Somebody should tell this guy who can’t get a $45,000 bid on his six-year-old $196,000 SL65. In reality, there are very few things that depreciate faster than a high-end Mercedes SL, and two of them (the S-class AMG sedans and the CL-class AMG coupes) are sold by the same company.
For those of who aren’t worried about ROI, the SL has a few nifty gadgets on order. A “Magic Sky” roof option on the by-now-traditional folding hardtop can take the transparent glass overhead to Compton-style tint at the flick of a switch. The “Frontbass” system claims to be the first time that awesome bass tubes have ever been integrated into the body-in-white of a production automobile. That may be because nobody else ever wanted to do it. Still, if you had a Bazooka tube in your Celica thirty years ago, or if you go by the name “Tigra” or “Bunny”, this is good news.
Upon the SL550’s release, a special model, the “Edition 1”, will be available. The Edition 1 will combine a full load of factory options with special designo paint. That one should lose value faster than nude pictures of Courtney Love but it will also probably be quite satisfying to own during the warranty period.
More by Jack Baruth
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I loathe and despise Speculators.. they ruined comic-books and they're bound and determined to ruin cars to. In other news, I remember Bazooka Tubes, first time I saw them was a pair zip-tied to the roll-bar struts on a 1980's Jeep CJ.
investment? they really said that? If I was drinking any liquid, the person who was speaking would be wearing it because I'd have laughed so hard. Who are they trying to kid? The gullwing, sure that's an investment because of all it's style and rarity. This thing? rare sure, style? eh..nothing really changing the world here. Technology advancements? Not really, more like iterations of technology that easy generation gets a touch better, nothing ground-breaking. Heck I'd call the CTS-V more of an investment for about 20-30 years from now. Not this, I doubt most people will care about this car in 20-30 years.