Still a Benchmark

[nsxtasy]

In the new (April 1, no foolin') AutoWeek, the cover story is about the new Mercedes SL500. The author takes issue with the statement by the Mercedes marketing VP that the SL500 "handles better than most high-performance sports cars" by stating: "When we think of 'high-performance sports cars,' we think of Ferrari 360s, Porsche 911s, Corvette Z06s, Dodge Vipers and Acura NSXs."

 

[Nsxotic]

Those are definitely the top 5 in my eyes.

 

[tmeekins]

What!? No Supra on the list?

Just kidding...

------------------
Tim Meekins
1997 Yellow NSX-T
http://tmeekins.com

 

[Vytas]

The SL500 a sports car? ANYTHING with a slushbox is no sports car in my book.

Vytas

 

[NUK3M]

dont tell that to the guys in F1

 

[Russ]

No torque converters in F1 = not slushboxes!

------------------
Russ
'91 black/black

 

[nsxtasy]

The article did have another statement that they did not think the SL500 was a high-performance sports car.

 

[nsx1164]

In the March/April issue of the Star (MB Club of America rag) the SL55 is reviewed with some country drives in southern Spain.
> 0-62 in 4.6 sec; 0-125 in 15 secs
> 469 hp (and 516 lb-ft torque at 2650 rpm) -- 9.05 lb/hp (better than the NSX)
> top speed limited to 155 mph (sans limiter I've heard it does 203 mph on track rubber -- w/o wings or other aero/ground effects)

With that much power, the mechanical losses of the torque convertor are overcome.

Interestingly enough, the previous (4th) gen SL500 was included in a multi-car comparo a few years back that included Thunderhill roadcourse laptimes. SL500 laptimes were surprisingly good -- better than several so-called sportscars (Boxster S, M Roadster, S2000, Camaro SS) -- and only about 2 sec behind a 3.2L NSX.


[This message has been edited by nsx1164 (edited 28 March 2002).]

 

[Michigan NSX]

Originally posted by Vytas:
The SL500 a sports car? ANYTHING with a slushbox is no sports car in my book.

Vytas

OK, Pardon my rant but this has been bugging me for a while.

I was always under the impression that the definition of "Sports Car" was a 2 seater, period! As in: A Honda CRX is a sports car but a BMW M3 or Mazda RX-7 is not (too many seats).

I will even go out on a limb here and declare that the McLaren F1 road car is not a "Sports Car" bur rather a "Grand Tourer" because of seating capacity (3).

The definition has nothing to do with performance, only seating capacity. The same thing goes for "Roadster" - 2 seat top-down car. A 4 seat top-down car is a "Convertable".

Thanks for letting me vent


------------------
'91 Black/Black

 

[nsxtasy]

In the March/April issue of the Star (MB Club of America rag) the SL55 is reviewed with some country drives in southern Spain.

It will be interesting to see how the buff mags like it when they get a hold of it. It sounds like the current M5 - a big, heavy car with a big, powerful engine driving it. Fine for long distance cruising, not nimble enough for the track. The new SL55 weighs 4400 pounds!!!

It was already discussed in the off-topic forum here.

Originally posted by Michigan NSX:
A Honda CRX is a sports car but a BMW M3 or Mazda RX-7 is not (too many seats).

The RX-7 has two seats.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 28 March 2002).]

 

[Michigan NSX]

P.S. The reason this irritates me is years ago an aquaintence of ours ran around telling everyone he had a sports car. We found out that it was a Buick Grand Sport!!

 

[Michigan NSX]

Originally posted by nsxtasy:
The RX-7 has two seats.

Sorry - I was thinking of Nissan 300ZX 2+2 but typed in Mazda RX-7.

By the way the above comments are in no way a "slam" on these other fine vehicles - they just aren't sports cars.

------------------
'91 Black/Black

 

[RyRy210]

I read in either R&T or C&D, that their definition of a "true" sports car must 1)not have a front wheel drive layout 2) the engine must sit somewhere behind you. No flames please, just stating what I read.

Ryan

 

[MAJOR STONER]

I had the misfortune of parking next to a silver BMW Z8 last Sunday. It made my car look tacky, and just the size of the Bimmer's wheels and tires made my car look whimpy. I even had to move it so people could take pictures of the Bayerischer Mist Wagon without the red of my car reflecting off the paint. Nobody noticed my car, even with all the mods. I seriously started to wonder just what it means to be a sports car lover in this bolt-on to sedan from the internet age we live in. Then this cute blond licked her lips as she passed by, and I felt better.

No matter what Mercedes you get, there is still some old fat woman driving her husband's car, and it is always better than yours. I take the most abuse from Mercedes drivers with five liter engines or bigger. A white MB SUV ran me off the road last week.

 

[cojones]

Originally posted by nsxtasy:
The new SL55 weighs 4400 pounds!!!

The new SL55 actually weighs 3900 lbs... significantly lighter than the previous model. I've seen this car in action -- I believe it to be faster in a straight line (and not much slower in the corners) than a stock 3.2L NSX


[This message has been edited by cojones (edited 28 March 2002).]

 

[Zuerst]

Originally posted by Michigan NSX:
OK, Pardon my rant but this has been bugging me for a while.

I was always under the impression that the definition of "Sports Car" was a 2 seater, period! As in: A Honda CRX is a sports car but a BMW M3 or Mazda RX-7 is not (too many seats).

I will even go out on a limb here and declare that the McLaren F1 road car is not a "Sports Car" bur rather a "Grand Tourer" because of seating capacity (3).

The definition has nothing to do with performance, only seating capacity. The same thing goes for "Roadster" - 2 seat top-down car. A 4 seat top-down car is a "Convertable".

Thanks for letting me vent

I read on Motor Trend like 2 year ago that some guy imported a McLaren and to pass the US safty standards the 2 "wing" seats has to be removed... That would make the McLaren in US "tiwce" the sports car...

 

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by nsxtasy:
The new SL55 weighs 4400 pounds!!!

Originally posted by cojones:
The new SL55 actually weighs 3900 lbs...

The 2003 AMG SL55 weighs 4400 pounds according to this article in Car and Driver. It also notes that the top speed is limited to 186, not the 155 you mentioned. Here's the exact quote in the article: "The problem is tires. No road tires exist for these speeds in a 4400-pound car, so even the 'unlimited' SL55 is constrained to 186 mph."

 

[SJJ28]

Originally posted by MAJOR STONER:
I had the misfortune of parking next to a silver BMW Z8 last Sunday.... I seriously started to wonder just what it means to be a sports car lover in this bolt-on to sedan from the internet age we live in...

I'm not POSITIVE I'm sure what you're saying here, BUT, If what you're saying is that the Z-8 is a glorified 2 seat 5 series, then you my freind could NOT be further from the truth.
Again, I'm not sure what you meant by that, but it seemd this way.
Steve

 

[cojones]

Nobody noticed my car, even with all the mods
I recently chatted with a noted dealer/collector in N Chicago (where SJJ28 works), and he has quite the collection and experience with high line vehicles. In his opinion (refinement, build quality, nice-ness), the Z8 is superior to either the 360 Modena / Spider or P911 TT.

 

[Nsxotic]

Originally posted by MAJOR STONER:
I had the misfortune of parking next to a silver BMW Z8 last Sunday. It made my car look tacky, and just the size of the Bimmer's wheels and tires made my car look whimpy.

Aargh!!!!!! That stupid looking Miata, Z3 looking thing? No way, that thing is god awful looking. Your NSX blows it away in my opinion and I can't see how anybody sees differently.

 

[LonVarscsak]

Originally posted by Nsxotic:
Aargh!!!!!! That stupid looking Miata, Z3 looking thing? No way, that thing is god awful looking. Your NSX blows it away in my opinion and I can't see how anybody sees differently.

I totally agree. I just bought my first NSX at beautiful '91 red/black, totally clean. I think it just about blows away every "typical" car on the road (I'm probably asking for a beating on this comment, but hey it's just my opinion).

The Z8 isn't that interesting to me anyway (and way too expensive). Although, James Bond did drive it.

Lon


[This message has been edited by LonVarscsak (edited 29 March 2002).]

 

[MAJOR STONER]

It isn't that I like the BMW (I dispise roadsters), I wouldn't trade my NSX for any other car, even a newer NSX. The BMW did make my car look small, and it did have a certain style that the NSX doesn't. That is a result of Honda's form over function. I guess it made me realise that having a Formula One car for the street isn't for everybody, and with modern electronics, ABS, TCS, etc., the performance gap between sports cars and other types of cars has narrowed alot over the years.