The Ultimate Grand Tour: A 1,000 Mile Road Trip Through California in a Mercedes SL63 AMG

The Mercedes-Benz SL has always had a place in America. The first ever road-going SL, the 300SL ‘Gullwing’, only came to be thanks to American importer Max Hoffman. He suggested Stuttgart build a street legal version of its 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning W 194 racer, to satisfy the demands of the booming car market in the post-war USA. He was right. Priced at $6,820 in 1954, the 300SL immediately sold well. It heavily contributed to 2,054 overall US sales in ’55, helping kickstart the mid century success of the German brand and forever cementing its place in the States. 

In the decades that followed, the SL’s popularity only grew. The 190SL came in 1955, offering a more affordable, softer and less powerful version of its motorsport-inspired sibling. It laid the groundwork for what the SL was to become, a combination of sportiness and comfort with a smattering of convertible glamour thrown in for good measure. The W 113 SL ‘Pagoda’ was the next generation, landing in 1963. It had a less streamlined but equally beautiful design, with straighter lines and a distinctive concave hardtop which gave it its nickname. My uncle’s own, now sold 280SL Pagoda is what got me into classic cars. As a boy it seemed otherworldly, its smooth silver bodywork and black leather and chrome interior a portal to another, more exciting world. He would commute in it every day through central London in the ‘90s and ‘00s, and only got broken into twice, losing the pop-out radio on both occasions. 

As the years rolled on the SL became more sophisticated and advanced. The R 107 SL was in production from 1971 - 1989, making it the longest-running of all, while its successor, the R 129 heralded the beginning of the big-engined SLs, with its flagship 6.0-litre V12. Now, in 2024, 70 years after the first road-going SL came out, I try the latest iteration. The seventh-generation R232 SL is as good-looking as ever. It gets delivered to the valet of my hotel, the West Hollywood Edition in Los Angeles. It is here I begin my 1,000-round-mile road trip out to Joshua Tree, the edges of the Mojave Desert, Willow Springs and back down to LA. 

The car I take delivery of is a top of the range SL 63 AMG. For this generation the SL is an AMG only car, and this one is as powerful and luxurious as it currently gets. It crawls around the parking loop outside the hotel lobby like a big cat, its low-slung stance aggressive and ready to pounce. The colour is ‘AMG Monza grey magno’, a stealthy matt grey with a subtle brown tinge that’s only visible thanks to the bright California sun light. The wheels are 21 inch black AMG 10-twin-spokes, which come with a silver lip and remind me of classic BBS alloys. I am not usually a fan of matt paint and black wheels, but here they are perfect. The interior is finished in ‘red pepper’ nappa leather and it smells of prosperity. 

Driving along Santa Monica Boulevard past the billboards, bars and restaurants, the SL63 makes sense. Top down and in full auto, comfort mode, it’s a luxurious city car that can waft between stop lights, its massaging seats kneading your lumbar and your ego. Cruising along the I-10 eastwards, the car’s grand tourer roots are clear. The active suspension in its softest setting is cushioned and smooth, absorbing bumps and imperfections with ease. The large leather seats hug you in all the right places, while the car’s sat-nav system does everything it should. The huge central screen displays an easy to read map, although the augmented reality turn signals are more confusing than helpful. 

The SL63 is significantly more complex than its ancestors. The entire car is controlled through the main screen, and there are menus for its menus. The climate control is easy to use and is ever present in each bottom corner of the display. But simple things are made more complex than needed. Lowering the roof requires you to slide and hold rather than press a simple button. There are too many driving modes, and two sport settings when just one would suffice. It is also much faster than any regular production SL that has come before it. 

The SL63’s 4.0-litre twin turbocharged V8 is good for 577bhp. It can go from 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds and hit a top speed of 196 mph. The old SLs of the ‘60s and ‘70s were cruisers that were less focussed on outright pace and more concerned with the view out of the wound down windows. The SL63 is more quarter mile muscle car, and while it can cruise effortlessly, it wants to go. This is despite its weight of 2,048kg, which is at odds with its ‘Sports Leight’ moniker. You won’t find many complaining about having too much power, but it does seem a little out of character considering the car’s heritage. 

None of this matters when you hit the mountains and valleys of the desert. Here are the kinds of roads you’ve only seen in the movies. Arrow straight tarmac cuts into the horizon, splitting a landscape of dust, cacti and rock in two. It is just you, the SL and the road, and when the sun is setting over your shoulders, there is nowhere better in the world.

In this part of California you can live out fantasies of a life on the run. There are classic American diners with red leather booths and long bars, roadhouses where you can stop for a refresher in between journeys, and in Joshua Tree itself, cool vintage markets and a trading post. Airstreams and tumbleweed litter the streets. A highlight is the Snake Bite roadhouse in the Yucca Valley. It serves fine burgers cooked in bone marrow butter, and house fries with a perfect house-made buttermilk ranch dip. The mid century pool table in the back once belonged to the Rockefeller Mansion in LA and was played on by Mick Jagger. Another local outpost is Pappy & Harriet’s. Located in Pioneertown, an old ‘movie’ town built for westerns, it serves an excellent meat-heavy menu and, on my visit, put on a secret Slipknot gig. 

On my final day with the SL63 I visit Willow Springs Raceway, 150 miles northwest of the Yucca Valley. It is one of the oldest racetracks in America, and ‘the fastest road in the west’ as its moniker proclaims. It is here where Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles tested early prototypes of the Ford GT40 in the mid ‘60s. The track looks barely changed since then. Old signs and original buildings are dotted around trackside, while the decaying grandstands look like they might collapse at any moment. It’s perfect. On the day I visit, there is a Shelby owners meeting. Squint and the Mustangs and Cobras burbling around the track look like a scene from the past. 

The SL63 doesn’t look like it's from the past. It’s a thoroughly modern car, with sleek looks and a complex, powerful engine and computer running it. But, it channels its heritage successfully, offering a contemporary take on a simple recipe. It’s quick, comfortable and has a soft top. Here, in California, there’s nothing else you need.