First introduced in 2001, the R230 was the fifth generation of the SL and took Mercedes’ flagship grand tourer in a much more luxurious, much more modern direction. 

With all new drivetrains, a retractable hardtop and a whole raft of new technology, the R230 is a grand tourer with something for everyone – style, luxury and power.

Purchased new by the owner in September 2003, this SL 600 is a highly-specified, extremely well maintained example of the breed.

Benefitting from a full service history and long MOT, it has been meticulously maintained and this clearly shows in the presentation of the vehicle.

As a vehicle with only one registered owner and very low mileage this car has been well cared-for. The MOT runs until January 2023, while the service book contains 5 stamps. The latest service was completed in May 2021, less than 500 miles ago at 48,881. All of the original handbooks are complete in their leather wallet, and the V5 is present and correct. There is also a receipt for recent works carried out, including the last service, a new battery and new boot struts.

The vehicle’s MOT history also confirms the car’s mileage as genuine, showing the car has actually covered less than 2,000 miles since March 2018.

All R230 SLs are lovely places to be, but this highly-specced 600SL really is on another level. The seats are very comfortable and supportive, trimmed in grey leather which is in exceptional condition. Likewise the dark grey carpets, door cards, walnut veneer trim, switchgear and brightwork are all in very good condition, with everything working exactly as it should. The luggage area behind the rear seats is also spotless, with a multi-CD changer located underneath the passenger-side panel.

This generation of SL benefitted from a huge number of technological improvements and featured many options not previously available in the range. This model has hands-free phone connection, cruise control, electric heated and cooled memory seats, air-conditioning, and a CD/Radio and navigation system. In the boot, the dark grey carpets look almost as new, and under the floor panel is a space-saver spare wheel, an inflation kit and the battery.

It’s fair to say that the interior is in excellent condition, certainly as good as you could reasonably expect in a 19 year old car.

Much revised over the R129, the R230 features a far smoother, more modern styling package. From the quad oval lamps and wing vents to the heavily creased flanks and smoothly humped bonnet, it looks every inch the sporting GT. In this car’s spec, it shows the cars lines off to their very best. The Tellur Silver paintwork shimmers and looks wonderfully glossy, with hints of blue. Externally the car is in excellent condition, with only a few minors blemishes and whirls in the paintwork – nothing that a machine polish wouldn’t quickly sort out. All of the external trim is present and correct and in good order too.

The wheels are smooth 5-spoke 18” Mercedes items, shod in a set of brand new Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres. They are in original, unrestored condition and look very well - not only being in fine condition but suiting the car perfectly.

One of the truly special things about the R230 was the retractable hard-top, fitted to an SL for the first time on this generation. Here it works very smoothly and provides you with the best of both worlds – a smoothly styled, all-weather coupe and wind-in-your-hair motoring at the touch of a button.

Underneath the car is solid and in a very good state. There are no signs of corrosion or damage and all elements we could see of the exhaust, suspension and braking systems looked in good working order.

Mechanically, the 600SL is really quite epic. The 5,513cc V12 is force-inducted with two turbochargers and pushes a quite simply immense 500bhp and 800Nm to the rear wheels. Unsurprisingly, all that grunt offers some startling performance - 0-60 passes in 4.7 seconds and the car presses on to an electronically limited 155mph. It’s the kind of performance that you’d expect from a supercar of the era, not a GT car. It’s an effortless and startling level of performance for a car weighing 2-tonnes. Here the engine is smooth and bassy, with the idle soon settling down to a barrel-chested rumble.

This huge powerplant is twinned with a 5-speed automatic gearbox, offering the kind of smooth but limitless shove that suits the character of the SL so well. It’s a grand tourer in the truest sense - easily capable of crushing continents with two occupants and all the luggage they need for a week away.

Driving as well as it looks, the massive brakes easily haul the car down from speed while the suspension cossets and provides the kind of ride that allows occupants to arrive refreshed and unruffled. Here it is all in superb condition, with no signs of damage or significant wear that we could see.

It’s a gorgeous, coupe-convertible Mercedes grand tourer with a monstrous bi-turbo V12. And that there is very much the appeal. Of course, if you want to go from one end of a country to another in any weather conditions, in ultimate luxury and pretty much at warp speed, a V12 SL is the car you want.

This example is presented in fine, original condition, with a very high specification and impeccable history. We love the Tellur Silver of this car, it shows off the vehicle’s lines very well and reflects like a mirror. Combined with the smooth, high-quality dark grey leather and walnut veneer cabin, it makes for a classy yet slightly stealthy GT car – if a V12 can ever be considered ‘stealthy’.

Mercedes-Benz SLs have always been collectible and sought-after, particularly in the higher specifications such as this 600SL. In this kind of condition, they’re rare to come across as well, especially as a one-owner car. Coming replete with a full service history and long MOT, it offers a fantastic opportunity to acquire one of the finest GT cars ever made, in a brilliant specification. Whether you want a car that can give you decades of joyous motoring, or an appreciating modern classic, this SL is the perfect choice.

And that V12… Wow.