I have about 150 miles on my slk55 and was just driving to enjoy the day and get closer to the 1000mi break-in point. While driving thru some new development near my home, I ran into a Ferrari 360 Spider. It sounded great as he took off from the stop. I have to say, the 55 also sounds very tough especially at low rpms. I have no idea what it sounds like over 4K rpm yet! Anyways, I followed as he headed in the same direction. I could see him look into his rear view mirror often. It was 1 lane so he would gas it then slow down. He kept doing this to see if I would bite. This is where the restraint came in! Sure, he'd take me, but it would be lots of fun!
Several miles up, we came onto 2 lanes. I pulled up and told him. "I know I'd lose, but would love to race. I just got it and want to break it in first!" He nodded and as we both complimented eachother's car. I was about to take H65 north but decided to go south as he started to take the roundabout onto the freeway. Since I wasn't abusing the engine, I took it fast right behind him. We were both flying around and I could see his passenger leaning hard into him! I'm happy to say that the 55 shows great poise! I later passed and made a U-turn at the next exit. I could tell he saw that I had no plates. Therefore, he knew I wasn't just wussing out!
I'm sure we'll run into eachother again. Next time, I'll be over 1K miles. We'll see how many cars lengths he gets me by!
__________________ SOLD! '06 SLK55 Caspian Blue / Black & Ash / DPE 19
Against a 360 Spider, you'd be surprised at what the SLK55 can do. The Spider is a bit heavier than the regular 360 and since it is a manual or F1 paddle type of transmission, it takes a bit of skill to not only launch it properly (since it has much less torque than the SLK55), but also shift properly and quickly. The 360 Spider tested in the magazines to do a quarter mile of 12.8 seconds at 110 mph (the coupe is a bit faster). The SLK55 has done 12.7/12.8 at about 109 mph. Pretty darn close and in the real world, the SLK55's performance numbers are much easier to replicate thanks to the faultless 7G transmission and plenty of torque down low at launch or rolling starts. So I'd say it's about even and in most situations, the SLK55 would win since not everyone driving an F360 Spider is a professional racecar driver with "mad rowing skillz" or at least know how to operate the F1 paddle shifter effectively [:)]
Although you think you may loose, the 1/4 mi times I've read on both cars show not much difference. This being the 2001/2002 360 cars. I did see as low as 12.2 sec for the Ferrari, but also as high as 12.9 and the slk55 showed 12.7. These were from "actual" time slips at dragtimes website.
masmole - 10/22/2005 12:15 AM
Against a 360 Spider, you'd be surprised at what the SLK55 can do. The Spider is a bit heavier than the regular 360 and since it is a manual or F1 paddle type of transmission, it takes a bit of skill to not only launch it properly (since it has much less torque than the SLK55), but also shift properly and quickly. The 360 Spider tested in the magazines to do a quarter mile of 12.8 seconds at 110 mph (the coupe is a bit faster). The SLK55 has done 12.7/12.8 at about 109 mph. Pretty darn close and in the real world, the SLK55's performance numbers are much easier to replicate thanks to the faultless 7G transmission and plenty of torque down low at launch or rolling starts. So I'd say it's about even and in most situations, the SLK55 would win since not everyone driving an F360 Spider is a professional racecar driver with "mad rowing skillz" or at least know how to operate the F1 paddle shifter effectively [:)]
Quote:
NukeSLK - 10/23/2005 4:44 AM
Although you think you may loose, the 1/4 mi times I've read on both cars show not much difference. This being the 2001/2002 360 cars. I did see as low as 12.2 sec for the Ferrari, but also as high as 12.9 and the slk55 showed 12.7. These were from "actual" time slips at dragtimes website.
That's great to know! I was just suprised at how he didn't pull from me on the highway onramp. Granted, we both probably weren't at 10/10ths driving even though our tires were squealing. Next time we meet, I hope I take him! It'll be cool since I already made the comment, "I know I'd lose..." Everyone likes it when the underdog wins!
Yup, I followed a 360 down some great country lanes, and he wasn't really able to shake me off.
We swapped cars, and he totally ran away from me when I was driving the 360 (I have to admit I was afraid to push his car to the max because I wasn't used to it, and it was an H-gated manual, of which I have little experience).
The 360 is a wonder car tho', one of my favorite EVER.
__________________
New car: 2004 SLK 55 AMG, Iridium silver.
Additional: Chrome door lock pins, K&N Performance Filters, Piecha roof control module
Sold: 1998 SLK 230K, Linarite blue.
Brabus: Front spoiler, side skirts, rear apron, exhaust, gear shift + hand brake, 17" Monoblock IV, hubcaps/wheel locks, Aluminium doorlock pins, polished safety roll bars, Brabus logo
Digit-Power: 30bhp + 50nm torque
Additional: Chrome side indicator frames, Chrome SRS badges, CLK grill, Lorinser Wing, Rieger headlight covers
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