GO ON – EXPLAIN YOURSELF…

Named Pagoda after the shape of their hardtops, this six-cylinder version is the nicest to drive thanks to less weight than the posher V8. It is utterly exquisite in every way. Sixties charm and coolness wrapped in one glorious car, designed to be the best. It is. Every switch and lever clicks with precision and boy, this is one comfy cruiser.

The R129 is best viewed as a fast convertible rather than an out-and-out sports car. In that way it is a true successor to the R107, a little larger and heavier, but moving the SL’S appearance on into a new era from the recognisable style set by Bruno Sacco with the first Pagoda more than 25 years earlier.

A svelte, stylish SL for the Noughties, and in AMG form, more powerful than an Aston Vanquish or 550 Maranello. But unlike those cars, it’s also really comfortable and you could (just about) use it on a daily basis. The huge brakes mean that stopping power is epic and it makes a rumbling sound just the right side of dignified.

A quarter of a million buyers over the model’s 18 years, almost entirely unchanged in production can’t be wrong. I love this big old solid lump of a Mercedes for its pure heft. It’s over engineered, designed to be a ‘good car to crash’ to satisfy US legislation, and therefore feels wonderfully well screwed together.

This is more ‘Reality Forecourt’ for me, as I’ve just enjoyed six months with my SLK 230. Great fun, clever engineering and cheap as chips right now. Supercharging on K models adds a real fizz and the six-cylinder 320 is a magical distance muncher. Way more fun than a Mercedes deserves to be. Buy now.