Description: Compact Luxury Roadster
Base MSRP Range: $89,900 - $179,000 Invoice Price Range: $83,607 - $166,470
Where built: Germany

These Mercedes roadsters have seats for only two in a luxurious cockpit crowned by a sleek hardtop that, at the tap of a console switch, folds through electro-hydraulic muscle and tucks below the trunk lid. Design for the roadster, in part homage to the original Mercedes gullwing 300SL but also a projection into the future of sophisticated automobiles, scores among the most artistic to come from the tri-star brand.

For 2005 there are four editions -- SL500 and SL600, plus the performance-driven SL55 AMG and new SL65 AMG. SL500 draws from a 5.0-liter V8 that delivers 302-hp through the Mercedes seven-speed TouchShift automatic. SL600 gets the 5.5-liter bi-turbo V12 with inter-cooling to push the power up to 493-hp, and SL55 AMG has the AMG supercharged V8. New SL65 AMG runs with the 12-cylinder AMG bi-turbo worth 604-hp.