black sl65 ... if not sl65 black

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Another dark and story afternoon in South Florida almost meant that there would be no new photos of this black 2009 SL65 AMG ... a shame, really, since this would likely be the last SL to wear the limited-edition diamond cut 1 pc. RENNTECH Monolite wheels (it really was limited - and not just by how many we could sell!). The key word, obviously, being "almost".

As young Cress pointed out: "that 65 looked SIKK out there", and I was able to snap off a few quick shots of the hastily dried-off car in between the downpours.

The end result, I think, looks great - and, while it's not the "all about Arizona" news week I had previously promised (not my fault: there's been a new SLR speedster, SL65 Black Series, and a few more "secret" rumblings to keep me busy these past few days) I hope you all find it somewhat entertaining.

Click on the pic above to go to the Flickr site, or CLICK HERE for more photos.

just freakin' gorgeous

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I admit it: I am an absolutely Jaded little monkey. With Bentleys, McLarens, Ferraris, etc. filling 50-odd hours of my week, this is probably to be expected. I mean, seriously, you can't trip over half-million-dollar exotic cars for too many days in a row before you end up with a very Very skewed idea of what makes a "nice" car.

Ferrari 430? Porsche Carerra? Shelby Mustang? Nah. They're all slower than the go-kart I'll be driving again Tuesday, and quite a bit slower in a straight line than this weekend's photo-subject, a lowered 2008 CL65 AMG fitted with RENNTECH's lightweight aluminum wheels, rear decklid spoiler, and performance PKG2 ... I knew what to expect when I got into the car: effortless, insane power. Nimble-for-its-size, etc.

I did NOT expect, however, to totally fall for this car as (real Photographer buddy) Dave and I snapped away with our cameras.

Wow.

I know, I know - "wow" is the literary equivalent of nails on a chalkboard, but hey! I'm not a writer ... or much of a photographer, really ... but Dave's pics are awesome (and will be published in next month's "Privilege" magazine profile on RENNTECH) and this car is so slikk it makes even my hamfisted photography look good. And that's the beauty of the CL, really - at this level of 11 sec 1/4 mile times and 200+ mph top speeds, the Big CL actually makes sense. It's an understated, $240,000 performance car.

People don't look at it. They don't stare. They don't gawk. Their jaws don't hit the floor when you pull up to the hotel ... but do they ever drop when you pull away from a stoplight and leave whatever Posherrariette ZR640F supercharged bi-turbo-whatsit swirling in your wake.

What a blast. CLICK HERE for the Flickr set. I'll post Dave's pics as soon as they're available.