tell me about a car that could outrun the SL55 AMG back in 2002 with ease.
In a straight line, I'll admit there's not much, but if you mean corners I'd say- Skyline (I mean R32-34, not R35) maybe, Lancer Evo (not the VII) and Impreza (WRX STi) possibly, NSX definitely... Basically any fast Japanese car, and I'm sure many others like Caterhams, Atoms, Exige, fast FWD cars. People say FWD's suck, but on a twisty road a hot hatch that can achieve some degree of lift-off oversteer will often outrun a RWD, mainly because you can get back on the power so much more quickly.
My Dad used to have an SL600 with AMG suspension off the 55, so thats a twin biturbo V12 instead of the supercharged V10, if I remember correctly (or was the 55 AMG a V12 S/C, and the 500 the V10?), maybe not as fast but with comparable weight and the same suspension. It was really, really, really, really fast, but had quite a soft, wallowy ride for the reasons that have already been explained.
The SL name is just marketing, since Merc came up with the 300SL, the first ever supercar, it makes sense for their then nearest supercar to be called the SL as well, although the SLR (named after the 300SLR) is technically their current supercar. And the reason I say that the SLR is their supercar instead of the SL63 AMG Black Series, which is faster and cheaper, is because part of the point of a supercar is that its stupidly expensive.
Anyway, I don't think anyone should be surprised by the SL's absolute lack of handling if they know even the basics about cars. I mean just by looking at it you can tell it's not designed to handle well, with the stupid length of the bonnet, under which lies a 5.5 litre V12, or V10, I can't remember which the 55 has, which is never going to be a light engine anyway. Then consider that it's a Mercedes Benz, which is a marque more concerned with going very, very fast and doing so in comfort and style, hence the interior is all leather and carpet with a lot of soundproofing, and again if I remember correctly (my Dad had his back in 2005 and I may be getting mixed up with his CL500), a 10-speaker sound system complete with a subwoofer! Then there's the fact that its about 10,000 feet long in total anyway, with a folding metal roof which are known for adding a lot of weight and not helping the torsional rigidity of a car (you remember how the handling went out on GT4 when the chassis got all bent out of shape?).
Compare this to cars that handle well. The MX-5/Eunos/Miata has a 50/50 weight distribution, is quite small, very low, doesn't weigh all that much at all and has a 1.6 litre I4. NSX has a mid-mounted V6 and was the first production car to use aluminium for its chassis, and is known for it's incredible cornering speeds. The R32-34 Skyline GT-R uses HICAS (four wheel steering) and ATTESA-ETS (torque splitting and bias between each wheel) to conceal the fact that it weighs almost 2000kg (the SL600 weighs around 2500kg, not sure if the 55AMG is much lighter than that) quite well, the Evo has it's Super AYC which can create a turning moment by differentiating the torque between each corner of the car (like ATTESA-ETS), and the Impreza has a Boxer engine which gives it a very low centre of gravity. Two things they all have in common (I think, anyway) is that they're shorter and lighter than the SL. Weight and Length of a car impact the handling more than anything, although thinking about it the SL probably has quite good weight distribution given that it's got a huge engine up front, complete with a huge radiator full of huge water and probably quite a bit of oil, and a heavy automatic gearbox, and in the back its got all the extra weight of a well-made and luxurious interior and the folding metal roof.
The SL55 AMG has none of those things.
But fair enough I say, the car is designed for the Autobahn, not the Nurburgring, if they wanted to make it good at going around corners they'd just do exactly what they have done with the SL63 AMG Black Series. Which I love.
And for anyone who says the GT handling is exaggerated, just watch the Top Gear hot lap, the thing just can't take corners! No one who owns one would admit to that, though, either because they don't want to admit their £70,000+ car is bad in any way, or they just haven't had the balls to drive it fast enough to find out. And that's fair enough, given what other people have said I wouldn't want to be going 100+mph only to find that it really actually can't take corners after all!
Finally, if you find any particularly questionable opinions or things I state as facts in this post, all I can say is its 3am, I'm quite tired and I do love Japanese cars, so I might be a bit biased. Thanks.
Hey it's possible, only if I had some/A LOTE of money! A garage and team crew.
Nice. The only problem with monster Miata's is that they are so light in the back (where the drive tires are) they have trouble putting that power to the road effectively. They do a lot of tire spinning. Well at least without 13"+ tires on the back.
vs 5.0L mustangs 250 below HP. 
