Twelve Apostles of Power - Mercedes SL73 AMG

If the automotive world ever needed an analogy for the term ‘if it fits, it sits’, this would be it. The Mercedes SL73 AMG was a limited production, high-performance version of the R129 SL-class, and had perhaps one of the most engine-favouring engine : car ratios of any car… ever. Let’s get started then.

So, what was it? It was, essentially, the closest thing Europe ever got to a factory hot-rod. The Mercedes SL class of this era (1989-2002) was a small, 2-door sports car normally offered with a relatively humdrum range of 6 and 8-cylinder engines, with the occasional AMG V8-powered model here and there. Towards the top of this range, however, things began to bubble. They bubbled with a distinct roar of a 12-cylinder engine. Over the span of the R129’s production there were 3 different V12s offered, though the one was the 7.3 AMG.

Sound familiar? That’s because this is the engine designed to slot neatly into Pagani’s slice of Italian flair, the Zonda. In the big Benz, this powerplant oozed 525 of the creamiest horsepowers known to mankind, and 553 lbs/ft of torque to waft you along to 155 (or 186 if you slipped AMG some cash under the counter) MPH; clocking up 60 in just 4.7 seconds.

All the metal under the bonnet posed a problem for this axis-breaker, though. As the SL was predominantly a 2-door sports car/ roadster, handling had to be kept adequate, if not good. This was a difficult task for the 2-tonne 12-banger. AMG fitted the vehicle with heavy-duty suspension and heavily revised brakes to bring the behemoth to a standstill, but razor-sharp cornering was a thing of the past for the big Merc. Jeremy Clarkson said in a review that he was unimpressed with the “generally imprecise handling” and “brakes that did not inspire confidence,” though that he, in typical Jezza fashion, enjoyed the smoke-machine tendencies of the SL73.

Something the 73 has going for it, if lacking point-and-go handling, is subtlety. Ignoring the clearly unoriginal rims, the only noticeable styling differences between this and a comparatively tame SL500 are the badges and the exhaust tips, which, on the 7.3 car, are very neat and inconspicuous by modern performance car standards.

Thanks to it having a large premium when compared with a non-AMG V12 variant, the SL73 was not a huge success, with only 85 ever being let into the wild. I couldn’t tell you how many remain to this day, but what I can say is that none were headed stateside from the factory, and that if one were to appear for sale now, the asking price would be well on the doorstep of £200,000. The market for cars like this is incredibly small, though money can be made if the right investment is made. Thanks for reading!