The big test: deluxe soft-tops

Does the new AMG-honed Mercedes SL want to be a sports car, or a GT? TG pits it against the best of both... and ends up confused

- OLLIE KEW

PORSCHE 911 CARRERA GTS CABRIOLET

£118,720 / £131,994

BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GTC SPEED

£241,300 / £283,640

MERCEDES-AMG SL63 4MATIC PREMIUM PLUS

£171,725 / £173,325

Every veteran car building company has an enduring model that defines it. A touchstone product that evolves with the times but manages to stay in touch with the founder’s ethos. No matter what niches the company expands into, these cars endure as the bedrock of the original vision.

Porsche has the 911. Bentley has the Continental. For BMW it’s a 5-Series saloon. Ferrari doesn’t carry over names, but the 812 Superfast has a lineage that stretches back through 550s and Daytonas into the days of the 250. These cars are vessels for the glory days.

Mercedes has an embarrassment of riches in this department, being the company that got a head start on the competition by inventing the car. The S-Class. The G-Wagen. And the SL. Doesn’t matter if you’re thinking about a luxury limousine, a rugged 4x4 or a sporting GT: there’s a Benz of yore among the greats.