From the April 1993 issue of Car and Driver.

Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II, is not revered for her sense of fashion, nor for her immeasurable wealth, nor even for her prowess at lawn bowling. Her subjects revere her for the impeccable breeding and heritage that she and the centuries-old British Crown represent (or at least once did). Where manners, refinement, and class are con­cerned—not to mention sensible shoes­—the queen is the world’s leader.

Similarly, Mercedes-Benz’s new 600SL will not be appreciated for flashy styling, a huge price tag, or supercar performance, but rather for the understated and over­engineered way in which these qualities are integrated. In terms of class and refine­ment, the 600SL is also a world leader.

Mercedes has taken the 500SL, a superlative two-place grand-touring con­vertible we likened to a modern-day Duesenberg SJ in our December 1989 road test, and infused it with smoothness, swiftness, quietness—or, in a word, “V-12ness.” SLs have always been lav­ishly expensive, and the 600 is no excep­tion. Simply put, anyone reading this is only slightly less likely to ascend to the British throne than to own this car. Mercedes say nine hundred rich Americans will have the opportunity to write on the second line of a check, in tiny letters: One hundred thirty-two thousand, one hundred-ninety dollars and no cents.

That sum will, of course, include an integrated cellular telephone, a six-disc CD…