Jack Haines and the Montecarlos other elephant in the room.

[petem]

That doesn't look like a genuine 180mph+ to me...

I wouldn't know! But the closing speeds are pretty scary and it would be pretty hard to fake surely?

 

[petem]

The non S 997 feels a lighter more nimble car to drive than the S and that's why I wouldn't dismiss non S cars. There is nothing wrong with a 997 S, far from it.

Thanks Henry. Looking at your site there is a car that would look a god fir for my mate but he doesn't like the red interior - philistine!

 

[adey]

Do you mean an R129? I would call that properly fast, rather than just quickish!
And also very elegant btw, in spite of what I previously said of German design...
...Then again, it's no coincidence that the head of styling at Daimler was an Italian, back in those days.
Btw, you might have kept it just as an investment, it's a car whose value is bound to increase, imho.

Yes, the R129. You have a wide range of knowledge.

One of about 50 official RHD cars made. I sold it about 10 years ago. It would be worth about twice what I sold it for now.
It was a lot of money new, 20 years ago, about £100k.
I still maintain that fast cars are pointless on UK roads today. You don't get from A-B any quicker and if you try there'll be a camera lurking somewhere.

 

[MapisM]

Wow, what a masterpiece.
Yup, I agree that a car whose builder declared LOWER power/acceleration numbers to avoid jeopardizing the sales of its own (supposedly better, but actually not!) V12 version doesn't make sense just for getting from A to B, and in any road for that matter, not just in the UK.
That said, the only way someone could have convinced me to sell it is over my dead body!
In your boots, I would have kept aside those magnificent but a bit fragile OZ racing wheels, together with the SL60 and AMG trunk badges.
I'd have sticked on an SL280 badge instead, together with 15 holes wheels, for the odd Sunday strolling along some lake, just enough to keep the beast stretched.
There's no way you could get a better/safer investment from your hard earned savings, imho - neither ten years ago, nor now.
Not to mention the grin factor on top of that!

 

[adey]

For Q-car duties I have an E320 coupe with the hughes twin turbo conversion. No bodykit, no badges

 

[henryf]

I still maintain that fast cars are pointless on UK roads today. You don't get from A-B any quicker and if you try there'll be a camera lurking somewhere.

Which does somewhat beg the question why you chose your current twin turbo charged converted car. You couldn't make a car less economic if you tried !

Henry

 

[adey]

Yeh, I know, I know... but I bought it many, many years ago before I became an old fuddy-duddy. It's sat in the garage under a dust sheet and has been for about 5 years. It was a hoot to drive though with turbo lag, no traction control or even LSD and in a chassis designed 30 years ago. Last time I drove it I did get 'words of advice' from the police
Talk about thread drift....

 

[henryf]

I couldn't help thinking of this as I watched Jack's video review of the MC6......






Was I wrong ?


Henry

 

[scubaman]

Sorry for taking the "drift a thread" a step further, but I remember when this merc came out. It was not only stunning to look at but also had technical features that seemed out of this world at the time. A classic in the making for sure.

I'd also argue that they have had more recent successes in designing future classics. Imho, w219 and it's successor are some of their best designs yet.

Of course, we are firmly in the each to their own -territory here, but there's no harm in discussing things of beauty, no right or wrong in these things .