Race Track Performance
Top speed was factory-rated at 140 mph (225 km/h), but some journalists testing the car saw speeds approaching 150 mph (241 km/h). Among those journalists was Brock Yates. Yates was approached by the factory to write promotional literature about the 6.9. He agreed, but under the condition that he could list the car's faults as well as its positives. Daimler-Benz agreed in turn, and Yates was given a US-spec 6.9 to drive from Manhattan to the Road Atlanta grand prix race track in Georgia. There, Yates would drive the car in as-arrived condition at racing speeds for a full 40 laps or just over 100 miles (160 km). The only change made to the car upon its arrival at Road Atlanta was the necessary adjustment of tire pressure. Driving 40 laps was a difficult task even for a purpose-built race car, let alone a street-legal sedan designed and geared for high-speed Autobahn cruising. The 6.9 suffered no mechanical problems and averaged a very respectable 72 mph (116 km/h) throughout the test, completing it with little more than excess dust on the bodywork from the Michelin radial street tires on which the car was driven to Atlanta. Yates was so comfortable driving the 6.9 around the track that he reported having run at least one lap with the sunroof open and the radio on, but the high price of the car made him think better of such risky driving and he finished the test with the radio off and both hands on the wheel.
Read more about this topic: Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9
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