I spent a short amount of time with this beast following May’s Coffee and Cars event at Vintage Park. It’s quite an unassuming car at first glance, and looks rather familiar because of all the other SL models you see rolling around Houston. But don’t be fooled by its somewhat “everyday” looks – this car packs enough power to keep pace with the Italians. Its 6 liter, twin-turbo v12 engine is rated at 604 horsepower and 738lb/ft torque (starting at 2,000 RPM), which gives it enough twist for insane passing power in any gear. All this done with no fuss whatsoever – so little fuss, in fact, that I find myself wishing for a little more of a dramatic soundtrack to go with the epic acceleration provided. With the exception of a nice raspy growl when cold started, the V12 burbles away quietly at idle, and only a muted sigh can be heard from the wastegates when you abruptly let off the throttle after accelerating.
This does seem to match the “under the radar” look that the SL65 sports. Driving it around town, you hope for someone in an exotic car to mistake you for a lowly SL55 so that you can dip the throttle down and ruin his afternoon. The car is supremely comfortable, with both air conditioned and heated seats that are infinitely adjustable, soft leather, and a great driving position. It eats up the miles and leaves you feeling just fine at the end of the drive, not soaked in sweat with a sore lower back like when you exit a Gallardo after a spirited drive. Of course, to compare the SL65 and the Gallardo is not necessarily fair – one is a powerful, beautiful GT car that gives you supercar power in an everyday usable package, and the other is an automotive scalpel – sharp, precise and unforgiving. Both have their time and place, and I love both cars for exactly what they are. If it were a perfect world, this would be my daily driver, and the Gallardo my “weekend toy”.
I chose a very modern location to shoot the SL65 as I thought that this car represented the epitome of clean, refined, efficient German engineering. Newly constructed row houses in North Houston seemed like the perfect match, designed with a minimalist’s eye and very clean, modern and efficient – just like the SL65. I wanted a nice, slightly desaturated commercial feel to the set, and I think they turned out very nicely. I added in some mountains from my recent trip to Santa Fe, to give Houston a little sorely needed topography. While shooting the rear of the SL65, a curious cat walked into the frame, perhaps wanting to check out the SL65, which was purring softly away. He stayed for the duration of the shoot, rubbing on my leg every now and then – nice guy!
I hope to have some more time with the SL65 in the near future, where I can take it to a few different locations and give it a more proper shoot. Stay tuned for that, and many more exciting sets in the near future!
