Mercedes-Benz SL500 Roadster

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Ever since the 300SL of the mid-Fifties, Mercedes-Benz has held its SL range of convertible GTs as the zenith of its engineering skill and design prowess.

The R230 SL series introduced in 2001 was certainly no exception to this tradition and was acclaimed as perhaps the best looking – and driving – SL since the legendary 300SL roadster of 1957. First of the R230 range was the SL500 with its 5-litre V8 engine which produced 306bhp and a hefty 339ft lb of torque. Even in a fairly heavy body with lots of electronic toys and a folding alloy roof, it was capable of pushing the car through 60mph in just 6 seconds with the (limited) top speed of 155mph comfortably achieved on the right stretch of autobahn, the power being delivered via a silky smooth 7-speed automatic gearbox.

Capable of ballistic pace when required, it also excelled as a sybaritic cruiser with 24mpg economy and there can be few finer ways to cross a continent. The only snag was the £70,000 price tag which restricted ownership to a privileged few.

Dating from March 2006, this SL500 has had just four owners and has covered only 79,700 miles with a good service history comprising six services to date, the last at 71,027 miles in May 2014. Looking particularly moody in Obsidian Black with a Graphite full leather interior, it also has the desirable options of a smoked glass Panoramic hard top and Piano wood trim interior, including the steering wheel. Other goodies include electric, heated memory seats, built-in sat nav, an electrically adjustable steering column and many other luxuries you would expect in a car of this class.

Said to drive beautifully with the hard top functioning as it should, it is MOT’d until March 2017 and comes with all its original handbooks and a spare key. These superb cars are immensely rewarding to drive or be driven in and strike us as remarkably good value in the current market.

Don’t take our word for it: as Quentin Willson wrote of the R230 in the Mirror recently: “The fact that this is a car you could own for free makes it even more exciting. Buy it at the current insane book value and then next year you should be able to sell it easily for what you paid – as the market wakes up to the absurdity of how cheap these SLs have become.”

AMENDMENT: The registration number on this car is DH06 CKH, not KY06 KXN as stated in the printed catalogue. This car also had four new Yokohama tyres fitted when it was MOTd in March 2016. The vendor advises that the central locking has stopped working so doors and boot have to be opened with the key. The estimate has been reduced accordingly.