Test Drive--Mercedes-Benz CL600 V-12 Biturbo
(Chris: We still have a few Pontiac pieces to run this week to close out our RIP Pontiac theme, but this was just too good to wait.)
"You're probably the only guy I'm ever going to let drive this thing," Nick said as he handed me the key.
The Mercedes-Benz CL600 sat there like a panther, the glossy black paint and tinted windows exuding a very refined, distinctive, upscale air of pure predatory menace. I slipped into the driver's seat and started the V-12. The tach needle jumped as I cranked it, then settled down to idle speed, but the engine itself was awfully quiet. Too quiet, as they say in those old adventure movies. The driver's seat was upholstered in phenomenally comfortable leather, facing an instrument panel which was both logical and elegant in its design. The wood on the steering wheel and around the shifter was polished to a level of shine that rivals the finer grades of telescope mirror.
I had never before driven a car with this many cylinders, or this many digits in the sticker price, so I was careful at first. I put it in gear and eased it through the parking lot to the street. I stopped at the end of the restaurant driveway, made sure that there was no traffic, and turned left.
Before me was a stretch of concrete unsullied by other traffic or the presence of the local constabulary. At that moment, I was overcome by the spirit of pure boyish mischief and floored it.
I'm not quite sure how to describe what came next.
Okay, you've all heard "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who, right? You know how there's that organ solo after the last verse, and everything tapers down like the song is ending, and then Keith Moon fires off a bunch of drum riffs and right about at 7:45 (if you're listening to the original eight and a half minute version from Who's Next) Roger Daltrey lets out the greatest scream in the history of rock music? It's the scream they use in the opening of CSI: Miami. You know which one I mean now? You're with me? Good.
That's what happened. My foot went down and yeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhh!
If there was any turbo lag--no, forget I said that, there was no turbo lag. Acceleration just happened. No hesitation. One of the rear tires may have started to chirp for maybe a tenth of a second before the traction control said Nein! Kein Schieben oder Gleiten! but that was as close as we got to a breach of the car's orderly German manners.
According to Nick, the CL600 in its current configuration has 493 horsepower and 590 pounds of asphalt-warping torque available from the turbocharged 5.5-liter SOHC V-12. 0-60 happens in 4.5 seconds, and the quarter-mile time is somewhere in the mid-12s. If for some reason you don't think that's impressive, please take into account that this is a full-size luxury car which weighs 4,473 pounds and has an automatic transmission.
As if that isn't enough--I guess for him, it isn't enough--Nick is considering putting in a Kleeman aftermarket ECM chip which would take the monster motor up to 627 horsepower and 713 pounds of torque and delete the line of code in the engine software that limits the top speed to 155. At that point, he'll have a car capable of the kind of acceleration (under 4 seconds 0-60) and cruising speeds that Stephen Hawking used to write peer-reviewed physics papers about. He plans to then take it to the local dragstrip and deliver the shock of a lifetime to some of the muscle car boys.
The CL600 is of course anything but a rough-edged muscle car. On our test drive, I deliberately aimed for the rough spots in the pavement. Even with the computer-controlled hydraulic suspension in the allegedly harsh "sport" mode, the ride was completely smooth. It soaked up the bumps better than one of my father's old luxobarges.The seats are plush and supportive, and I can't think of a more comfortable place to be sitting when you decide to punch the throttle and violate the speed limit and the laws of physics. It's also kitted out with every comfort and convenience gadget known to the modern automotive arts, including proximity sensors that detect objects within eight feet of the car, and what Nick accurately calls the world's most over-engineered cupholder.
While the ride was smooth and the cabin luxurious, this car is not soft. I took the CL600 down one of my favorite twisty roads at a brisk clip. (I didn't push the envelope too hard; no sense giving Nick a reason to regret handing me the key.) It's a heavy car built for the Autobahn rather than for the autocross, and consequently lacks the agility of something smaller like my GTI. Even so, it can be tossed through the curves fairly aggressively without losing its composure. The variable-assist power steering has plenty of road feel, the brakes are equal to the car's speed and size, the suspension computer and the hydraulics keep the body lean in check, and so the thing just corners like it's on rails. Nick's only complaint about the handling is that the stability control is so over-protective that it prevents you from powersliding in a turn--which tells you where he's coming from, I suppose!
The CL600 is too big and maybe a bit too opulent for my personal taste, but it's impossible not to respect a vehicle that combines champagne-and-caviar luxury with fire-breathing terror-of-the-dragstrip acceleration. It's the perfect car for driving to the opera--especially if you "accidentally" leave the house a little too close to curtain time and need to get there in a hurry!
I'd like to thank my good friend Nick Corp for giving me the chance to play with his shiny new (to him) toy. If you're on the roads in the northeast part of Ohio, you might see him. He's in the black Benz that just blew past you in the left lane.
--Cookie the Dog's Owner
Steaming Pile on May 06, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Does it have dynamically remodulating shields, photonic torpedoes, and three holidecks?
That Car Guy (Chuck) on May 06, 2009 at 12:34 PM
But... for the price of this, you could have had twenty brand new Chevettes!
Anthony Cagle on May 06, 2009 at 12:40 PM
"Does it have dynamically remodulating shields, photonic torpedoes, and three holidecks?"
I'd be happy with a blonde named Helga and a couple frothy. . . .mugs.
John B on May 06, 2009 at 01:49 PM
Yes, there are luxury cars that are nearly as good. I'm sure BMWs and Audis are very nice. Lexus makes great cars. Heck, I even had a late-90s loaner Buick Park Avenue that was very impressive, available for not much money.
But, there is nothing like a Mercedes.
All the cliches are true...solid like a bank vault. Silent, powerful.
My comparitively modest CLK 320 has half the power of the CL 600, but it's far more power than I'll ever get the chance to use.
Like a ride in a Ferrari, and owning a Jeep...driving (or owning)a Mercedes shoud be part of everyone's driving experience.
It will impress you, and perhaps spoil you for life.
Rob the.... Audi guy? on May 06, 2009 at 09:54 PM
Wow. Great writeup. I respect it, but at the same time.... I wonder what it would have been like with a manual transmission.
David Colborne on May 06, 2009 at 10:13 PM
Since the state legislature is in session in my area and I drive through our state capital every day on my way to work, I occasionally get to see a black Ferrari of some sort (Testarossa, I think - the taillights look right, anyway) driven by, according to the license plate, a lobbyist. When he gives it some gas, you see oil burning out of the exhaust pipe. The only time I ever saw oil burning out of a Mercedes exhaust, it was a diesel.
I think that says it all.
Shawn on May 07, 2009 at 05:01 AM
I'm a big fan of flagship coupes, the CL600 is a gem. Good to hear some firsthand lusting too. As long as you can keep up with the maintenance, they are a great buy. The CL600 is at a rather delicious point in the depreciation curve right now.
Exhibit A:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-CL-Class-BUY-IT-NOW-2001-CL600-V12-362-H-P-AMG-WHEELS-LOW-MILES-NAVIGATION_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a317Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem4ce8f7ece0QQitemZ330326076640QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks
Exhibit B:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-CL-Class-CL-600-COUPE-CL600-AMG-PACKAGE-V12-TURBO-BLACK-BLACK-LOW-RESERVE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a317Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem335162bf1cQQitemZ220408758044QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks
17,000 clams for a car that stickered at over $135,000 new! Wouldn't you rather have that than a new Cobalt? Hell, I'd be happy with JUST a CL500 of this vintage.
CJinSD on May 07, 2009 at 08:58 AM
They don't hold any of their value for good reason. This was the low eb for Mercedes' quality of materials and assembly, although the new ones are no more reliable. The used value may only be 15% that of a new one, but cost of ownership is the same, as repairs are constant and usually in four figures. A friend of mine gave up on his 5 year old 7-series BMW when the warranty ran out, as he'd seen enough bills to know that it had cost BMW over $8K to keep it on the road the previous year and it still had nonfunctioning gadgets, a suspect transmission, and an engine with a miss. German flagships are never bargains, at any price.
K E Müller on May 07, 2009 at 03:06 PM
Mercedes of North America has screwed up again with its (mis)marketing and mismarking. It's not a CL600, it's a CL550 that is misidentified (and note the url says c630, indicating something else entirely). The numbering system is simple enough to follow; it's based on the engine size. A 600 says it's a 6-liter engine, but this one's a 5.5 liter job. The venerable 240 is a 2399ml engine; you can't get much closer to the actual number. If you see an AMG 55, it's a variant that drops a digit for the AMG, but it's still supposed to be a 5.5 liter engine. Years ago MB of No Amer, mismarked multiple models, calling a 260 a 300, and using 400 to indicate something larger, fearing, I suspect, that consumers would otherwise be confused. Then they put a 2.6 l engine in a 190 body and called it a 190 2.6. This year or last, they dropped the kilometer scale from the speedometer.
They must get their executives from the (formerly) Big Three because they think the American buyer can't understand German automotive logic and doesn't know how to drive a stick.
But what do I know? I'm just a consumer and owner of 2 MBs, probably my last, unless they wise up.
CarZ on May 07, 2009 at 04:00 PM
When Mercedes-Benz changed their model names from number-letter (e.g. 300E) to letter-number (e.g. E320) in MY 1994 I too thought they would finally be able to use the true displacement as part of the model name instead of names like 300E 2.6 but it wasn't so, largely for marketing reasons. Even AMG models don't always accurately reflect engine displacement.
However, this is not just a North American thing. Around the world and even in Germany, the CL600 has a 5.5L engine along with other "mislabeled" model names.
SC351W on May 07, 2009 at 04:21 PM
Shawn,
The two ebay links you have posted are for the non turbo CL600. The one ad says its a turbo, but they did not have the twin turbo V12 until 03. The 2002 and older cars where also plauged with problems. You will see a large price increases from 2003 when they changed to the twin turbo V12 giving it over 100 more HP & TQ. In 2003 the first year of the twin turbo they had CD base Navigation which also has issues. In 2004 they changed to DVD based navigation. The 2004 up CL600 models are more desirable. IMO its like compairing the early non supercharged cobras to the newer supercharged cobras. Once they supercharged the newer cobras nobody wanted the NA cobras. Most MB enthusiests would advise against buying a 2002 or older CL600: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w215-cl-class/.