Category: Convertibles 
Price Range: £59,975 to £153,050
Style, quality, convenience of roof, engineering, performance, handling, refinement
Not much. Smallish boot roof-down, less dramatic than some rivals
Everything you'd expect a flagship Benz to be - and it's fun to drive provided it has the adaptive suspension
Mercedes does not replace its best-selling two-seater sports SL roadster very often. Since 1954, when the famous Gullwing SL appeared, there have been just four versions of the car; this is the fifth. The previous model was launched way back in 1989, and the one before had an amazing 17-year production run. This version, however, will last just seven-and-a-half years, according to Mercedes, fashion dictating that model ranges are replaced more often.
The SL faces growing competition, squaring up not only against the Jaguar XK8 and Porsche 911 convertible, but also the freshly announced Maserati Spyder, which will cost £75,000. Mercedes will be countering the opposition with a barrage of technology - not least the folding aluminium roof that turns the car from coupe to roadster in 16 seconds - together with unparalleled quality and the weight of a nearly 50-year-old reputation.
To start, there was just one version - the 306bhp, 5.0-litre, V8 SL500, which was followed to market by the sledgehammer 476bhp, 5.5-litre AMG version, tested separately. The range now includes an entry-level SL350 with a 3.7-litre, 245bhp V6 engine but without the hydraulically controlled adaptive suspension, which becomes an option. This has a sequential-shift semi-automatic transmission, too - dubbed Sequentronic - so a normal automatic is also now optional. A 6.0-litre, twin-turbo V12 is also on offer: this model, costing only a few grand short of £100,000, develops 500bhp from its bi-turbo 5.5-litre V12, sprints from 0-60mph in a nonetheless civilized 4.7 seconds, and has every refinement you'd expect from a car that costs more than many peoples' houses.
