2009 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series -- A true star from the three-pointed star

There are powerful cars and really powerful cars. When a machine has over 600 horsepower, it’s in a pretty exclusive club. Just about to be inducted into the Garage of Fame is the 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series. That’s a whole lot of title, but it’s a whole lot of car.

AMG is M-B’s performance division and its products sell generally well in the USA and particularly well in southern California. When a Benz gets the AMG treatment, it’s like being bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to gamma rays -- it acquires super powers.

And when it becomes a Black Series model, the ante is upped even more. The CLK63 AMG Black Series (tested by the good Mr. Neil) is a shining example of how fine a driver’s car a Mercedes can be. The plain old SL65 AMG (costing somewhere in the plain old region of $190,000) is still a considerable piece of kit. The Black Series approach takes that rumbling 6.0-liter V-12 and juices up its twin turbochargers to produce 650 hp and a phenomenal 738 pound-feet of torque. The engine could make even more, but in the interests of longevity and not over-stressing the five-speed automatic transmission, there’s an electronic limiter.

Still, that’s enough to send the car down the road to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds. Top speed is limited electronically, but 198 mph should be fast enough for most people.

The car has a fixed carbon fiber roof, eschewing the folding hard top of a conventional SL -- all the better to give off a hardcore aura. Its styling emphasizes a lower, wider, meaner stance and a retractable rear wing raises automatically once 74 mph is reached. Apart from the aluminum doors, every other body panel is carbon fiber. At 4,123 pounds, this model is 550 pounds lighter than a normal SL.

The cabin is all-black and carbon fiber abounds here too. Even the usual SL seats have been ditched to make way for two lighter, more supportive carbon fiber bucket seats.

This is the fastest and most powerful street car to come out of AMG. Throw in an adjustable suspension and a three-mode electronic stability program (with one mode being off completely), and the SL65 Black Series appears to be a formidable machine. And yes, it commands a formidable price: around $300,000. Out of a limited production run of 350 vehicles in total, 200 will be headed Stateside. Rumor has it that 50 deposits have already been put down. So once again, black is the new black.

-- Colin Ryan

Photo: Mercedes-Benz

Comments

[jay]

i read the writeup on teh clk black model by neil, the reason why he says a "proper manual wouldnt' be needed" is because a purist would want a manuel tranny, driving a stick car is not about performance numbers or faster shifts, its about leaving some driver skill on the table in this world of traction control/abs/,etc, to make the driver still have to shift and modulate things like clutch brake and throttle all at the same time.. tough yes, but if it was easy then some fo the fun is taken out.

[Ellen Hilburn]

I guess it would be kind of hard to get out of a speeding ticket for excessive speeds in 74 mph zones or less. I mean once that retractable rear wing raises, it would be hard to say "No office. I didn't know I was going above the speed limit! My retractable wing cannot be counted upon as it's on the fritz. I paid 300G for this car and it came equipped with a faulty retractable rear wing if you can believe it!