About the Mercedes Benz AMG SL55

Think of it as a Viper with breeding. Take everything you've read about Mercedes-Benz's SL500 — great styling, abundant horsepower, quick and secure handling — multiply it by five and you have the AMG SL55.

It's the sound system with 5000 watts of power...the computer with a 5-gigahertz Pentium V processor...it's the latte with five extra shots of espresso. More is better.

And faster. It isn't magic, it's AMG, and it begins with the engine under that long, graceful hood. Each AMG V-8 is hand-built in Affalterbach, Germany, from pieces balanced and matched to work as a functional family. That alone, plus the stroke increase to 5.5 liters, would be enough to make many drivers happy, but AMG adds a high-pressure screw-type Lysholm supercharger with Teflon-coated rotors to pump out 11.6 psi of boost. Add the air/water intercooler, put the engine through the dyno test and up come 493 bhp at 6100 rpm and — sorry, Viper guys — 516 lb.-ft. of torque at 2650-4500 rpm.

Favorite Features -
Retractable Hardtop...The SL's retractable hardtop works flawlessly and, when in place, is as handsomely appointed inside as any Mercedes coupe.