- 571
- Cambridge, UK
- tdyln
This is my first write up, so it'll probably be ****e, so be constructive in ur criticism!
Mercedes SL600 '98.
I decided that it was about time i did the Merc SL maker's race, so iwent to the late 90s used car lots to buy one. At a the sum of Cr136,xxx; was one of those elegant SL Coupés that rich gits always swan around in. Faced with the choice of the V8 SL500 and the pricier SL600, i decided to go for 12 cylinders, as i already have 4 V8s. So, i had a butcher's at the important stats:-
(STOCK)
Engine: V12 DOHC.
Power 347(?) BHP
Weight: 2029kg
Being a power-mad little 16yo boy, i decided that this wasnt to be! However, to see how this hefty beast would perform stock, took it to the neon lights of Nevada. To my naive surprise, the two tonne behemoth pushed out waves of torque, and sprinted from 0-400m in a pretty quick 13 seconds. And the noise was pretty V12-ish too! However, i like my cars a lttle more on the light, perfect-handling and damnright wild side. So i spent a fortune at the Merc dealership upgrading everything i could, even going as far as spending 50000Cr on a Rigidity refresher. Okay, so the performance was sorted. Now, look at the vitals:-
Mods; The full house! (I retained the stock muffler as the V12 makes a fab sound!)
Now:
Power: 623 BHP
Weight 16xx kg.
It was fitted with R3 tyres.
However, i am a firm believer in showing off what you've got, and behind the subtle, dull clothes was a pretty cool V12-brained kid . Time for a makeover! Hopping to GT Auto, i slapped a flat rear wing on, and fitted it with the Bullitt-style PD rims from the use section. Now, time to race it.
Race 1: Apricot Hill.
Blitzkreiged the opposition and won by about 10 seconds. With tweaked suspension and tranny (keeping the final drive stock though, makes better use of that awesome V12) and high downforce, the fat big kid was as agile as any little MX-5 kid through the bends and stuck to the road; although after the end of the final lap, the tyres were wearing out to red; it wouldnt have lasted another lap. Spotting the replay, i saw that braking made the right rear smoke. So it was time to hotfoot back to Germany for some harder slicks.
Race 2: (Cant remember track!
)
Another rapid performance from the big beast, and tyres performed well.
Race 3: El Capitan.
Oh no. Here's where the brute force, weight and brakes took their toll on the car's tyres. Standing start for the thrid time meant that the other Merc SLs ate my dust. Bags of grunt and grip ensured a 7 second lead over the monstrous SL55 AMG. However, Lap Four - disaster! Red tyres alla round, and the car was slipping, skidding and whee-lspinning around, unable to stay on the track. Spun out, and before i knew it, zoom. Past goes the 2nd placed SL, and bang goes my race. Annoyed, i return to mercedes for some hard tyres. After struggling with grip due to the hardness, the beast redeemded itself and won the race.
So, after many tyres and tears, the promised total of 30,000 wa smine, and so was a creamy-white '54 300SL Gullwing. RESULT.
However, it wasnt the start of a long and beautiful friendship. In fact he showed his true colours.
So, being an experimenter and a lover of smoking modern flashy cars with something, shall we say, more UNUSUAL, i decided to wheel the big boy out for one shot at the (already won) Pan Euro race at Le Mans, where i was up against the coolest kids in town, SLR Maclaren among them. He Bombed. Led until after the final chicane from Mulsanne, on Lap 1 where he spun out into gravel, and the cars were zipping past. Tried to get the old boy going, but he was becoming adolescent like me, so he folded his arms and spun out again, leaving me with a distant 6th place. Being angry and stroppy, i decided to abandon the race, as the V12 monster had no chance of making up the distance.
So, we raced, we laughed, we cried. After a final hug, the SL was sent away into the sunset to the Late 90s Used Car lot.
Sorry about the corny style and the mistakes, this is from 2days ago and i have a poor memory!
What do u all fink?
Mercedes SL600 '98.
I decided that it was about time i did the Merc SL maker's race, so iwent to the late 90s used car lots to buy one. At a the sum of Cr136,xxx; was one of those elegant SL Coupés that rich gits always swan around in. Faced with the choice of the V8 SL500 and the pricier SL600, i decided to go for 12 cylinders, as i already have 4 V8s. So, i had a butcher's at the important stats:-
(STOCK)
Engine: V12 DOHC.
Power 347(?) BHP
Weight: 2029kg
Being a power-mad little 16yo boy, i decided that this wasnt to be! However, to see how this hefty beast would perform stock, took it to the neon lights of Nevada. To my naive surprise, the two tonne behemoth pushed out waves of torque, and sprinted from 0-400m in a pretty quick 13 seconds. And the noise was pretty V12-ish too! However, i like my cars a lttle more on the light, perfect-handling and damnright wild side. So i spent a fortune at the Merc dealership upgrading everything i could, even going as far as spending 50000Cr on a Rigidity refresher. Okay, so the performance was sorted. Now, look at the vitals:-
Mods; The full house! (I retained the stock muffler as the V12 makes a fab sound!)
Now:
Power: 623 BHP
Weight 16xx kg.
It was fitted with R3 tyres.
However, i am a firm believer in showing off what you've got, and behind the subtle, dull clothes was a pretty cool V12-brained kid . Time for a makeover! Hopping to GT Auto, i slapped a flat rear wing on, and fitted it with the Bullitt-style PD rims from the use section. Now, time to race it.
Race 1: Apricot Hill.
Blitzkreiged the opposition and won by about 10 seconds. With tweaked suspension and tranny (keeping the final drive stock though, makes better use of that awesome V12) and high downforce, the fat big kid was as agile as any little MX-5 kid through the bends and stuck to the road; although after the end of the final lap, the tyres were wearing out to red; it wouldnt have lasted another lap. Spotting the replay, i saw that braking made the right rear smoke. So it was time to hotfoot back to Germany for some harder slicks.
Race 2: (Cant remember track!
)Another rapid performance from the big beast, and tyres performed well.
Race 3: El Capitan.
Oh no. Here's where the brute force, weight and brakes took their toll on the car's tyres. Standing start for the thrid time meant that the other Merc SLs ate my dust. Bags of grunt and grip ensured a 7 second lead over the monstrous SL55 AMG. However, Lap Four - disaster! Red tyres alla round, and the car was slipping, skidding and whee-lspinning around, unable to stay on the track. Spun out, and before i knew it, zoom. Past goes the 2nd placed SL, and bang goes my race. Annoyed, i return to mercedes for some hard tyres. After struggling with grip due to the hardness, the beast redeemded itself and won the race.
So, after many tyres and tears, the promised total of 30,000 wa smine, and so was a creamy-white '54 300SL Gullwing. RESULT.
However, it wasnt the start of a long and beautiful friendship. In fact he showed his true colours.
So, being an experimenter and a lover of smoking modern flashy cars with something, shall we say, more UNUSUAL, i decided to wheel the big boy out for one shot at the (already won) Pan Euro race at Le Mans, where i was up against the coolest kids in town, SLR Maclaren among them. He Bombed. Led until after the final chicane from Mulsanne, on Lap 1 where he spun out into gravel, and the cars were zipping past. Tried to get the old boy going, but he was becoming adolescent like me, so he folded his arms and spun out again, leaving me with a distant 6th place. Being angry and stroppy, i decided to abandon the race, as the V12 monster had no chance of making up the distance.
So, we raced, we laughed, we cried. After a final hug, the SL was sent away into the sunset to the Late 90s Used Car lot.
Sorry about the corny style and the mistakes, this is from 2days ago and i have a poor memory!
What do u all fink?
Sounds like tons of fun (1.6 tons that is 
)
