Test drive and walkaround of a 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL500 Sport with Chris from Chicago Cars Direct. The Mercedes SL has come full circle. The fifth-generation SL finally recaptures the sports car soul of the immortal 300SL Gullwing of 1954. This new SL is a real sports car–full of technology, stunning to look at, deceptively fast, amazingly capable, and, most important, a lot of fun to drive. For much of its life, the SL was a boulevard cruiser for aging, affluent softies, but now it’s good enough and rewarding enough to challenge the Porsche 911. For the moment, SL fanciers will have to sate their appetites with the SL500, although other models will follow: a supercharged 476-horsepower SL55 AMG, an entry-level 220-horsepower SL320, and a range-topping V-12-engined 406-horsepower SL600. We drove the SL500, which is tipped to be the best value of the range. Despite being loaded with new technology, it will be priced at a similar level to the outgoing car (at around 000), it is plenty powerful, and the normally aspirated V-8 will give it better balance than the two more potent but heavier engines. Like the SLK, the latest SL boasts Mercedes’ patented hard-panel fold-away roof. The full-size droptop is now, like the SLK, strictly a two-seater, as every decent roadster should be. While the collapsible top converts the new SL into a weatherproof coupe at the push of a button, the absence of token rear seats provides valuable extra storage space, either inside two …