First impressions

If I were prone to swearing, I'd be doing it now. If I was Amish, I still think a couple of expletives would have escaped my lips. This SL65 is simply, er, barmy. In the dry, from a five-speed autobox, the back end is wiggling around like a fat, happy dog in the first three gears. It doesn't come on boost instantly like the supercharged SL55 (which has a mechanically supercharged five-and-a-half V8) but that just makes the hit, when it does come, all the more extraordinary.

Be scared, there's well over 600bhp and it's all healthy. But the torque (limited to 1000Nm from 1300Nm), is the devastating weapon. Armed with that, 100mph to 150 is a blink. Like 50 to 80mph in anything else. Having driven the CL65 I was pleasantly surprised because that car felt like all engine and no chassis. Here, in the SL, I get it. Though it's too much in the wet, because tyres aren't invented yet that can convert the energies involved into forward momentum without tearing the tarmac.

It's almost restrained too. Only complaints being slightly confused steering (needs more feel, but at high speeds you see the point) and nuggetty suspension, possibly a symptom of those huge bad-boy wheels. I'd love to live with one for a bit and see how this thing copes with being an everday driver... best pop out and see what it can do just one last time...

Tom Ford

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