Pick of the Day: 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL600 Roadster

As far as powertrain evolution goes, most automakers are now moving toward smaller turbocharged motors in lieu of larger V8 and even V6 powertrains. But 15 years ago, many luxury brands had a very evident “bigger is better” approach, especially when it came to what was going on under the hood.

The Pick of the Day is a 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL600 roadster listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Ponte Vedra, Florida. (Click the link to view the listing)

“The good part is you know about this car,” the seller says. “It’s rare, it’s beautiful, the performance is incredible, and it’s a $200k supercar with less than 36k miles on it.”

It is difficult to believe that this car will be 14 years old in just a few months; the design has aged incredibly well, and this car’s condition speaks for itself. “Absolutely beautiful condition,” the listing says. “Just had recent maintenance; nothing at all wrong with the car. This is a hardtop convertible that works perfectly.” The dark silver exterior shows some of the updates that came when the “R230” chassis SL (which originally dated back to 2002) went through a restyle.

Mercedes’ press release from July 2009 talks about some of the advancements that took place for the 2009 model year that were specifically related the high-performance variants of the SL: “A direct descendant of the legendary 300SL ‘Gullwing’ of the 1950s, the current SL roadster lineup features the V8-powered SL550 (382 horsepower, 391 lb-ft of torque) and the V12-powered SL600 (510 hp, 612 lb-ft) as well as the high-performance V8-powered SL63 AMG (518 hp, 465 lb-ft) and the V12-powered SL65 AMG (604 hp, 738 lb-ft).” With a roster like that, Mercedes was clearly catering to go-fast crowd.

This was not by any stretch Mercedes’ first foray into massive 12-cylinder engines. The first Mercedes to get a V12 was the W140-series S-Class luxury sedan back in 1991. After all, the brand’s key competitor, BMW, had similar offerings and the competition between the two marques was (and is) incredibly fierce. In the case of today’s car, the engine is coupled with a five-speed automatic transmission.

Most likely, anyone who could afford an SL600 was not too concerned about fuel economy. Nevertheless, the numbers weren’t that bad for car with such a massive powerplant: This car was rated at 11 miles per gallon in the city and 18 in the highway.

Have you ever driven a V12 car before? I haven’t, and I’d love to take this one for a spin.

The asking price is $42,000 for this gorgeous SL600.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.