equipped (as 45% of them will be according to Porsche) TT cab? i suppose with the tip weighing in around 3800+, and the SL producing a much higher % of max torque at a much lower minimum RPM, the 600 lbs diff is overcome? they did say the brakes were crap on the SL in terms of feel, but the TT cab was ceramic equipped which they say helped the feel. the TT sure is a lot more than the SL55 and it's hard to beleive a tip driver would choose the TT, no?

 

I think an SL55 would pull away from a stock 6 speed on the freeway too, it's one unbelievable beast. I've yet to drive a 996 TT though

 

I can't wait until the SL600 and SLR hit the road ;0

 

It's not always about weight...the gearing is where I'd look.

I'd also like to know the definition of "pulled away" in addition to where the pulling away occured (speed wise).

 

What about the SL65 coming soon?

over 700 Lb ft for torque!!!

 

SL65 you mean right?

 

 

Whoops, Not sure how I did that.

i corrected it, thanks.

 

the SL55 with the slushbox and traction control is very easy to drive very fast in a straight line. If you go up against one in a stock TT you better get your shifts down perfectly and get a great launch. I would guess that accelerating from highway speeds to high speeds (something like 80-180) the SL55 would beat a TT pretty bad. At that point weight really isn't much of an issue, it's more gearing, hp, and aerodynamics.

Right now the Stage IV GT2 walks all over the SL however

 

A few days after the completion of my Ruf 550 HP conversion, I messed around a little with a new E55 and it wasn't even close, my Ruf-TT was in a different league all together.

 

"A few days after the completion of my Ruf 550 HP conversion, I messed around a little with a new E55 and it wasn't even close, my Ruf-TT was in a different league all together."

isn't that like saying "A few days after the completion of my Brabus 640 HP/757 lb conversion, I messed around a little with a new TT and it wasn't even close, my Brabus SL600 was in a different league all together."?

"the SL55 with the slushbox and traction control is very easy to drive very fast in a straight line. If you go up against one in a stock TT you better get your shifts down perfectly and get a great launch."

the article was comparing the TIP equipped (vs. 6 speed) TT cab to the SL55.

 

ya i read that. i don't have any experience behind the wheel of a tiptronic TT though so i thought i'd offer some real world experience and obviously i don't think any of us have experience behind the wheel of a TT cab of any transmission.

Anyway the bottom line is that the SL55 is a hell of a car. I have never liked Benzes but think this is by far the best car they've built. For me though the auto kills it. I would love to see mercedes offer a proper manual transmission.

-Steve

 

yeah, they said the SL was a pretty numb experience (typical benz) whereas there was much more driver feedback via the tt cab. the TIP though makes an already heavy car even heavier. but, it's still considerably lighter than the 4400 lb sl55. that said, i think it's a stretch to refer to any 3800+ lb car as a true sports car.

i drove a tip coupe once (3650 lbs? + heavy salesman) and found the power to be just as heart pounding as the 6 speed. in the corners though, it felt like a load of bricks compared to a c2 (tt 6 speed kinda does too though). just like the 6 spd coupe, you'd never know the weight was there when braking! after driving the tip i kinda thought it was the only auto i could almost live with in a sports car - because of the seemingly always available power/torque in any gear at any rpm.

 

My comment was meant as a point of comparison of different TT's and the E/SL 55. Most posts drift a bit from the topic at hand.

 

"Most posts drift a bit from the topic at hand."

ya think :-)