McLaren
MP4-12C
EngineV8, 3799cc, twin-turboPower616bhp @7500rpmTorque442lb ft @ 3000-7000rpmWeight1434kgPower-to-weight442bhp/ton0-62mph3.3secTop speed207mphPrice when new£176,000(2011)Value today£73,000-110,000evorating
;;;;2Porsche
911 Carrera T
EngineFlat-six, 2981cc, twin-turboPower365bhp @6500rpmTorque332lb ft @ 1700-5000rpmWeight1425kgPower-to-weight260bhp/ton0-62mph4.5secTop speed182mphPrice when new£85,576(2017)Value today£80,000-100,000evorating
;;;;4AstonMartin
V12Vantage
EngineV12, 5935ccPower510bhp @ 6500rpmTorque420lb ft @ 5750rpmWeight1680kgPower-to-weight308bhp/ton0-62mph4.2secTop speed190mphPrice when new£135,000 (2009)Value today£60,000-160,000evorating
;;;;;at Anglesey, back in 2014, it was being smoked by a McLaren P1.
But, oh, the noise and the drama. Its AMG motor’s brutally loud,
hammering aural assault on its surroundings all but masked the
high-revving McLaren’s harder-edged and thinner-sounding
twin-turbo V8. Eyes closed and cars unknown, it would have
been easy to imagine the deep, dark, percussive bellow had the
better of the argument.
It didn’t, but if any car here is defined by its engine it must be
the SLS. Yes, it has gull-wing doors (an icon staple) and the kind
of edge-to-edge width that makes you gasp, especially when
viewed from behind. But, honestly, the 6.2 litres and 622bhp of
prime V8 AMG beef cradled under that impossibly long bonnet
is where it’s at.
Even when you don’t want it to be. On the road out across the
island towards the A55 – mostly bumpy – the combination of a
very firm ride, an insufficiently stiff throttle action, a rampant
468lb ft of torque and a hair-trigger traction control conspire
to turn the SLS into a barely controllable bucking bronco.
Believe me, it’s a wild enough ride on smooth roads.
That said, the car is actually inspiringly capable. As well as
the extra power (up 59bhp), the Black Series tweaks – reduced
weight, lower and stiffer suspension, adaptive damping, faster-
shifting seven-speed DCT, carbon wings and flicks – add a few
layers of finesse and sophistication to the juicy core brutality. It
means the run over a tight and twisty Llanberis isn’t nearly as
buttock-clenchingly tense as I might have feared.
With its torque-vectoring electronic locking differential,
the big car turns in crisply, resisting understeer like a champ.
Better still, switch the ESP to Sport Handling mode and you can
modulate cornering attitude with the throttle. It’s a surprisingly
precise and progressive process that runs somewhat counter
to the more familiar smoky oversteer AMG script. Get the rear
tyres warm and slipping (but not lit) and the SLS feels properly
weaponised and surprisingly light on its feet – if no longer the
quickest AMG, then surely the real triple-distilled, high-octane
deal with oodles of McQueen attitude. If the Mercedes SLS AMG
Black Series isn’t a future icon, I don’t know what is.
Well, actually, I do.L