Dan Trent: SL55 AMG – fast road to ruin or bargain of the century?

OK, this is scraping the bottom of the barrel. But there are plenty into the mid-teens, decent looking ones in the mid-20s and a broad selection all the way up to the £50,000 or so desirable low-mileage, special edition models seem able to command.

Whatever the current sticker price this remains a £100,000 car with running costs to match, added to which the sheer complexity of the SL55 and the various expensive ways in which it can go wrong need to be taken into account.  

Sensible disclaimers done? Good. Because the SL55 is one hell of a car!

I first saw one at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, I’m guessing back in 2001 just before it made its official debut in Frankfurt. I say saw, it was more like heard. I’ve since come to appreciate Mercedes rather more but at the time the brand left me cold, my misguided view it only built cars for old codgers and dodgy dictators some way off the mark. Anyway, I remember standing up by The Flint Wall, hearing the most thunderous V8 noise coming up the hill and thinking “that sounds amazing, what the hell is it?”

When I saw the car responsible was a silver SL I was most confused. “Mercedes doesn’t make cars that sound or go like that,” I thought. Such was the impact of the SL55 though, this being AMG’s breakthrough moment and the first time in its life the Porsche 911 Turbo got a serious scare from its hometown rivals. The SL55 was not only more stylish than the 911, it could seamlessly switch from coupe to roadster, it had more firepower, it sounded better and if you could remove the limiter I reckon it would be faster too.

Traditionally SL stood for ‘Sports’ and ‘Light’, the near two-tonne SL55 being neither of these things by conventional measures. Doesn’t matter. This is a feelgood car brimming with the swagger and attitude we now know in all AMG products but until that point kept under the radar. I still think the shape is fabulous, that V8 remains one of the best-sounding ever made and its 500hp (517hp in later ones) still feels strong in a modern context. I love the combination of sophisticated looks and opulence with the unashamedly macho soundtrack and driving style, I love the sheer speed of the thing and I’d still have it over a 911 Turbo of the same era.

My favoured spec would be a later Performance Pack car with the F1 safety car front bumper, this also getting bigger brakes, stiffer suspension, 19-inch wheels and a mechanical limited-slip differential. They seem to command a bit of a premium, though I did find this black one for £24K. The early standard cars with the multi-spoke wheels – like the example that opened my eyes at Goodwood – are also appealing, classic silver setting the looks off very nicely indeed.

Check for leaks and squeaks from the folding roof, make sure the complex roll-canceling Active Body Control suspension works properly, go through the service history with a forensic eye for detail and proof of consistent care and you might just score yourself a 500hp bargain. I’m seriously tempted…