Tonight. SLS is going sideways. 190 Evo II is going sideways. And CLK is going sideways.
Please welcome german enginering at it's best. Mercedes-Benz special!
Head 2 head
European muscles
Two biggest three pointed stars of them all. Lighter but less powerful SLS and drop dead gorgeous SLR. In terms of feel and joy they are quite similar. You clearly can feel heavy front in both of them, and it takes some time to get used to driving them fast. Strangely SLS feels heavier, and less balanced, but not much. What really shocked me was that SLS was faster in drag race than SLR. You could clearly see that gearbox of SLS was way faster.
Driving these Mercs for the first time is strange. You really don’t feel how fast you are driving, and it can end on a tree. Slow in, fast out is a key to use their enormous power.
When Sztig was doing test laps, we couldn’t tell if he is fast or not, maybe because he was spinning out at almost every corner. Later it turned out that he wasn’t aware that he enters corners so fast and couldn’t correct it in the middle of corner.
So which one was faster on our test road? Some say that he keeps tiny pet cow in his house and he is unable to tell apart hippo and elephant. All we know he is The Sztig. After many laps it turned out that they are almost exactly the same in terms of speed. So which one is better? I prefer SLR. It’s more balanced, and prettier, but there is one tiny factor against it. Price. So if you care about your money, SLS is really for you, if not decide yourself.
TwoFace
I’m pretty sure that Evo II has never been on sale in Gotham City. Otherwise Batman would sack his ridiculous jetcar for this badass.
Old Merc drives as it looks. It’s pure evil. Problem is it’s really really bad. You get in it, drive to first corner and bang it tries to kill you. You’ve heard so much stories about how great it is, and now you are wrapped around lamp post. Trying to feather the throttle doesn’t make things much better. And after few nervous laps you know what is wrong. Tires!
What monstrous idiot put it on comfort softs? Tyre change and we have new car! Still tricky, but fun. Still tries to kill you, but only if you push too hard, and not every time. If your driving style is “pedal to the metal!”, go find yourself something easier. This one is demanding, but also rewarding you with fun and excitement.
On our test track we had to use stock tires. That’s our rule, so it didn’t end spectacular, but with sport hards Merc was 3 second faster.
Drift corner
Senior citizen
I always thought that Mercs were for older people. Interior made of few trees and cows, calm and dignified exterior and that’s all. My friend once took me for a ride in his CLK 350 on a mountain road. Suddenly I had to change everything what I was thinking about that brand.
Big engines, rear wheel drive, what else do you need to have fun? Yeah, they sometimes look kinda old and boring, but look at Sean Connery, he is 130 years old, and still is a badass.
CLK 55 is great base for drifter. I’ve tuned it to around 460HP and it’s still easy to manage around corners yet have power to go through them like hell.
Sports season
From bottom of hell
Most people like to experience something extreme from time to time. Bungee jumping, parachute jumps, shooting with AK47, or knitting. And all that is good and entertaining, when you do it from time to time. Driving Sauber C9 is similar.
Blasting through Monza in it was sensational. Endless amounts of power, extreme acceleration and hardcore speed made my day. But like other extreme activities it can end not quite well. A little too much throttle on corner exit and your bungee rope breaks. It’s definitely not sunday drivers car, but if you have some skill, and don’t ram gas pedal with fury you can have unforgettable moments with this monstrous Merc. Just like with knitting.
This time we have added times of SLS, SLR and Evo II. Be prepared for some surprising results.
1:28,219 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 '10 Pooooooower
1:29,667 Lamborghini Murcielago SV '10 Whoa!
1:30,619 Pagani Zonda C12S 7.3 '02 Razor edge
1:30,881 Mercedes SLR McLaren '09 I mean... how?
1:31,026 Mercedes SLS AMG '10 Faster than you think
1:32,103 McLaren MP4-12C '10 Tricky but fast
1:32,323 Saleen S7 '02 Wild and fast
1:32,908 Ferrari California '08 What the hell?
1:33,879 RUF CTR2 '96 Faaast but not fun
1:34,391 BMW M3 GTR Road Car '03 Astonishing accuracy
1:34,520 Aston Martin Vanquish '04 Glued
1:35,403 Spyker C8 Laviolette '01 Hard to manage
1:35,705 Maserati GranTurismo '08 Hard to manage
1:36,106 Mercedes E55 AMG '02 Powerslide!
1:36,159 RUF 3400S '00 Pure pleasure
1:36,402 Audi RS6 '02 Heavyweight monster
1:36,566 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione '08 Nervous but fun
1:38,402 Autobacs Garaiya '02 Oversized kart
1:40,035 TVR V8S '91 Controlable fun
1:41,731 Mercury Cougar XR-7 '67 Funny boat
1:43,660 Mercedes 190 E Evo II '91 Idiotic tires
1:44,233 Ford Focus ST '06 Predictable
1:45,103 Honda Accord Euro-R '02 Very good for big FF
1:45,174 Fiat Coupe Turbo '00 Nice car, yup
1:46,575 Opel Vectra 3.2 V6 '03 Understeering cow
That's all. Next time typical issue. Hope you like it, and tell me what you think. About mag, photos, cars, whatever