Charley, we all know that thing is only a stepping stone until you finally find an SLR.
I've had the pleasure of driving an SL65 as well, and they are amazing cars. Deceptively fast, nice and smooth, very quiet, comfy, etc. I can't imagine a better daily driver!
They are AMAZINGLY tame to just putt-putt around town in. If you never put your right foot down, you would have no clue of the real power of the car. Mercedes/AMG did one heck of a job!
However, I tremble in fear of the thought of any electrical gremlins. They've packed so much "stuff" into them it seems to be a matter of when, not if, things start going wrong. A buddy of mine right now is fighting another issue in his SL600... a couple years ago the dealer replaced the interior harness when the seats moved and the climate control freaked out when he went to roll the windows down, then 6 months later they replaced the engine harness when they couldn't clear a check engine light, and now the headlamp wipers and washers turn themselves on and pump the washer tank empty every time you start the car, and then turn off. On top of that, his 10 month old CL55 is having issues with the electric windows/door actuators getting out of sync when you open and close the doors.
Fantastic cars, as long as everything is in working order.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not knocking them and I'd love to have one, but being able to put up with the quirks and occasional problems seems to come with the territory and is something I could live with.
Charley, I wish your transmission the best of luck in coping with 850 ft/lbs. I know the AMG boys had the engines cranking out even more than that on the dynos but they had to electronically de-torque the thing to get the trannies to hold up. Do they perform any tranny upgrades along with the engine/chip upgrade? Something along the lines of more line pressure for more grab on the clutch packs?
Another thing, just wondering, who is offering the chips? Brabus? RENNtech? Someone else?
Troy