Mercedes-Benz SL500

Mercedes-Benz updated the SL500 and renamed it the SL550 for sale in the United States in the 2007 model year, but up until then, the SL500 had been the classic sports roadster.

First introduced in the 1994 model year, the SL500 was immediately popular for it's "unparalled power" and for being "the definition of performance." The SL500 was extremely popular in car-crazy and status-conscious southern California, where the SL 55 AMG - the souped up and rare version of the SL500 - was also a common site.

The car was most often available as a convertible. "Why would you want it any other way?" one roadster enthusiast asked of the SL500.