Daily Edition: Feb. 24, 2006

By High Gear Media Staff

High Gear Media Staff

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Benz SL Goes to 550 and 382

2006 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

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The new engine produces 382 hp from those 5.5 liters, up 80 hp from the previous engine. Torque also gets a boost, moving up 52 lb-ft to 391. As you'd expect, this is a thoroughly modern and sophisticated chain-driven, double-overhead-cam engine with variable-valve timing to get the best balance between performance and efficiency.

Hooked to this engine is a new adaptive seven-speed automatic transmission called the 7G-Tronic, which comes with a sports system that includes paddle shifting on the steering wheel. It shifts smoother, but engineers say the shifts are also 30 percent faster.

The second generation of Mercedes' Active Body Control is installed to the SL550. It allows 60 percent more control of the suspension, to keep the car flat when the driving gets strenuous. The entire active suspension system and various brake assists work together to - well, they can't change the laws of physics, but they do extend the time until they take effect. The result is to make every driver better and safer without their even realizing it.

The appearance changes are subtle. A new front air dam, front grille, revised taillamps and redesigned door-entry sills, and a new 18-inch ten-spoke wheel are the extent of outside updates. Inside, the upgrades are the materials - new high-quality leather and some new colors, including black and red, and some new toys-and-trinkets like Sirius Satellite radio and hands-free telephone capability (you have to buy the Bluetooth or Multi Handset Interface separately).

To honor the 50th anniversary of the most famous of this line, the 300SL, the North American market will get an SL Roadster 50th Anniversary Edition. Just 550 of them will be sold, and they'll feature exclusive double five-spoke wheels, a brown leather and black ash trim interior, and a pewter-colored exterior.

Prices won't be released until closer to the April sale date, but expect the new SL550 it to go up about a percent or so. -David Schmidt

2006 Geneva Motor Show Preview, Part I by Ian Norris (2/20/2006)
Geneva gets into gear with Aston, Bentley, Ford, and Lotus.

Enzo Wrecker Details Emerge

Earlier this week, TCConfidential told you about the smashing crash-up of a Ferrari Enzo on the streets of Malibu. The Los Angeles Times has more details on the driver, who claimed to be a passenger in the car, a story discarded by police. The man, Stefan Eriksson, had worked for a European company, Gizmondo, that was trying to market a handheld game like Sony's PSP. Last fall, Eriksson - who had driven at Le Mans in a Ferrari logoed by Gizmondo, left the company in a cloud of allegations that he had been convicted of counterfeiting in Sweden in the early 1990s. The company collapsed, but Eriksson left with enough money to live in a Bel-Air mansion, where the Times unsuccessfully sought an interview with him on Wednesday. Eriksson had told police at the Enzo crash scene that a German man named Dietrich was the real driver of the car and had run away on foot, but police took other accounts from witnesses who said Eriksson had been racing a Benz SLR. Eriksson later tested at 0.09 percent BAC.

Group 1 Megadealership Posts Record Revenues