The 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG is a fantasy.

Driving one propels you into a world where money is just that stuff that keeps overflowing your various bank accounts. I was ready to buy a monocle after one day of cruising around in it.

The base price is $132,875 and it climbs steeply from there. When I recently test drove this limited-edition high performance convertible, I felt like a pretender, a poseur; I could have lived in Southern California for all I knew.

Sitting in the driver's seat, I would open the two-piece drop top and barrel out of Gibraltar letting people assume I owned this piece of luxury. I finally understood the Talking Heads song "Once in a Lifetime."

The throaty 6.2-liter V-8 under the curvy hood of the SL63 AMG ripples with power: 518 horses and 465-pound-feet of torque to be exact. It can launch the convertible to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds -- using the gut-wrenching launch control -- and has a 155 mph top speed (which Mercedes electronically limits).

Despite the massive power, the rear-wheel drive roadster feels nimble, thanks to years of German technicians perfecting their automotive prowess.

Racing brakes (14.2-inch vented and perforated ceramic front brakes with brake assist), racing suspension (four-wheel independent suspension with automatic four-wheel level control with driver selectable ride height that automatically lowers at higher speeds), paddle shifters for the super smooth seven-speed AMG SpeedShift MCT automatic, traction control, stability control and a host of other features transform every Trixie behind the wheel into Speed Racer.

EPA gas mileage numbers haven't been released, but I'd expect these kinds of figures on the Mach 1: 11 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway. At $4 a gallon, it costs almost $85 to fill up the tank, but I imagine people who park a SL63 AMG in their driveway don't worry much about the price of gas or milk or small countries.

The SL63 AMG comes with a few intimidating controls -- you feel like you need a degree in computer science from MIT. During the first 100 miles of trying to figure out Mercedes' COMMAND system -- while driving of course -- I rarely kept my eyes on the road. My advice: Start the car, sit in your drive way and play with the little knobs until you know how to switch radio stations and can pull up the navigation screen. The system requires some familiarity, but once you get used to it, you can connect your iPod easily enough.

The cockpit of the SL63 AMG is pure comfort. You sit low in the car and the top of the door remains high relative to your body. But that helps keep wind at a minimum while driving with the top down. (There's also a windscreen you can raise.)

Everything inside the cabin bespeaks nappa leather luxury, except the carbon fiber trim. The dash, the steering wheel, and the AMG sport seats, which have an adjustable lumbar support to help you find the perfect comfort spot, come with so much leather the smell intoxicates you when you sit down. Sixteen seconds later, the top is stowed and you're on the road.

Mercedes includes a Bose stereo with a four-gigabyte hard drive that can hold up to 1,000 songs on it. Even with the top down, it sounds immaculate. Obviously, I should have played Vivaldi or Bach -- instead I stuck with Cracker and Cake.

There are also loads of little touches that make life in this Mercedes surreal to those of us with lesser fortunes.

The trunk opens and closes electronically -- time is money and who has the time to actually reach up and pull the trunk down. There's a Bluetooth connection for your phone. The glass sunroof allows in the sun when you don't want to drop the top. The bi-Xenon headlights with active curve illumination and corning lights give you complete vision at night. (The headlights include heated washers.)

And then there's the Airscarf -- an ingenious device mounted inside the headrest. Little fans blow warm air down your neck to keep you warm on those slightly chilly mornings when you just have to have the top down. It's more decadent than Swiss chocolate with your morning latte.

The exterior looks just as sharp and comes with the all of the top of the line parts and pieces you'd expect. The big front end, with a big black grille and oversized Mercedes gun site in the middle, create a dramatic entrance. The large intake below the bumper adds to the car's muscular look and the side "gills," which the SL63 uses to push hot air away from engine, give the roadster a much more muscular look than most Mercedes. It's far from subtle.

The standard 19-inch tires fill the wheel wells and give the SL63 AMG its athletic stance. Every line is chiseled and cut like an Olympic athlete. People know it's beautiful. And they know it's expensive.

And when they finally ask, casually pull the monocle away from your eye and say what I said, "I think I got her for $140 or $150. It was either the SL63 AMG, or that small island in the Caribbean. But who really needs another island?"

It's your fantasy, enjoy it.