Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series Spied Up Close & Personal

Just ahead of debut
by Brian Potter
July 1, 2008 12:00 AM
Filed Under: German, Mercedes-Benz, Spy Photos

Mercedes released the teaser image in the AMG Owners Lounge over a week ago, and now the car junkies at Autojunk.nl have snapped some fresh images of the SL 65 AMG Black Series wearing some new revealing camouflage.

Despite being heavily taped up, it's the precision of the taping job which shows the majority of body details. The upclose and personal photos show the overall widebody contours with the resculptured front bumper fascia, DTM-esque wheel arch flares, rear bumper fascia design and new 20-inch wheels. Also, the roof/windshield pillar shows no seams for a retractable hard top denoting a fixed roof. Head over to autojunk.nl for full size images.

The SL 65 AMG Black Series will receive a boosted version of its 6.0-liter bi-turbo V12 up to 680 hp. With only 350 units to be sold the SL Black Series will reach a top speed of 220 mph but electronically limited to 186 mph (300 km/h), 0-60 mph rushe by in less than 4.0 seconds.

Source: Autojunk.nl
share  |   email to a friend  |   print  |   add a comment

Related Content

Comments

Up close and personal as in nearly being run over?

Reply | Report Abuse
by Spyshot-73 | July 1, 2008 12:04 AM
LMAO :D

Report Abuse
by Andres2007 | July 1, 2008 1:05 AM
220 mph. wow. Even though Mercedes can't seem to make a proper sports car, this one may change my opinion. And what's the point of limiting the top speed. In my opinion it's just as bad going 186 on a highway as 220. And if the car is going to be on a track then why not let it up to its maxiumum potential.

Reply | Report Abuse
by RS5 | July 1, 2008 1:57 AM
If Mercedes wanted to build a 1000 HP supercar then it would, this car is simply a tool to boost the sales of all other SL models.

Reply | Report Abuse
by Siavash77 | July 1, 2008 2:05 AM
Slavash77, maybe I am missing your point, I purchased my SL63 before we even heard of this car. This car to me is about a pissing contest of who has the most money to spend on a car that for most part is not going to see much street time, but put away as a collectible as the SLR's and the old gullwings but just my opinion

Reply | Report Abuse
by benzboy | July 1, 2008 4:07 AM
will finally crack the 4 sec 0-60 mark. Are they starting to learn how to put the power to the ground or did they just throw more hp at it?

Reply | Report Abuse
by pzigly | July 1, 2008 5:35 AM
what planet do you come from? the clk black series and c63 have already cracked the 3.9 0-60mph mark.

Report Abuse
by unknown | July 1, 2008 5:39 AM
So since 2003 benz has had the E, S, CL, and SL that had almost 500hp and more as they evolved. With that much hp they should have been able to break the 4 sec mark already. Also the clk is more of a track car. I doubt if it is comfortable merc or a merc an executive would buy. And I totally 4got about the C. Also thats still slow for that monster of an engine

Report Abuse
by pzigly | July 1, 2008 7:37 AM
what about the slr

Report Abuse
by dbehmoaras | July 2, 2008 2:34 AM
the slr is a whole different kind of animal. It was developed by mclaren. I am just talking about reegular cars that got an AMG badge after.

Report Abuse
by pzigly | July 2, 2008 5:30 AM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the SL65 AMG Black Series has a fixed roof...shouldn't it be called the "CL65" AMG Black Series instead of the "SL65"? I was under the impression that the difference between the SL and the CL was that the CL had a fixed roof and the SL has a retractable roof. Please enlighten me...

Reply | Report Abuse
by kobear66 | July 1, 2008 5:55 AM
CL-class is a large 4-seater GT/coupe, while the SL-class is a 2 seater.

Report Abuse
by AG4 | July 1, 2008 7:35 AM
The CL is like a 2 door version of the S class. Up until recently they changed the look to make it and the S class more distinctive. The SL as AG4 said is a 2 seater. Because this is a "Black Series" it is more focused on being like a track sports car or a car what has a stiffer suspension and a major reduction in weight. In order to reduce weight, they probably will take out the heavy mechanisms that pull down the top to save weight. Also most convertables are not as stable and rigid as a car with a roof so having a fixed roof will improve handeling and responsiveness which is what black series is all about. Its like the M3 and the M3 CLS. The CLS has weight reduction as extreme as taking out the air condition unit.

Report Abuse
by pzigly | July 1, 2008 7:52 AM
PS: The first production roadgoing "SL" was the 300SL gullwing. I guess this means that an SL doesn't always need to have a retracting or folding roof.

Reply | Report Abuse
by AG4 | July 1, 2008 7:38 AM
Benzboy, you ARE missing the point. My comment was for RS5 who claims that Mercedes can't make a proper sports car. I'm saying they CAN make whatever they want. It doesn't mean that just because a company is trying to boost sales that everyone falls for their strategy (which is what you assumed I meant). The SLR and Gullwing are both models of their own, not modified versions of another model. If this car is aobut a pissing contest to you, then maybe youre better off posting comments on a website thats about pissing.

Reply | Report Abuse
by Siavash77 | July 1, 2008 8:26 AM
Lets not turn this into a schoolboy argument like on YOUTUBE.. im sure were all grown up enough to have opinions that do matter to car makers , and im sure that Mercedes , Audi , or Whoever do their best to please the drivers of the future and build cars that most of us can only dream about.

Reply | Report Abuse
by Spyshot-73 | July 1, 2008 9:58 AM
Cracking the 4.0 sec barrier over 100m is seen as a big acheivement of which it really is in terms of sprint even though a quater mile is a more realistic distance to measure sprints of cars. The point is cars performe differently when tested i different locations (altitudes) especially for the normal aspirated engines. I quite still find it difficult to believe that a C63 AMG has cracked the 4 second barrier coz even their claims of 4.6 seconds was not achieved in South Africa during testing in Cape Town Killarney race track and Joburg at the Kayalami racetrack. You may be surprised that the C63 was beaten over 100m dash by both the RS4 and the 4 door M3, it was however reported that it was slightly quicker over the Quater mile but still came out last over a hot lap.

So no Merc have still to learn on how best to put their power to the ground. They do have montrous engines though.The arm chair experts can explain where Merc loses 'sight of the ball'.

Reply | Report Abuse
by Wisp | July 1, 2008 10:50 AM
I think that the engine they are putting in these cars are too big. The torque in these cars are crazy, and I feel like thats why they cant get it to the ground. If they had a engine that was like 600hp with 400-550 ft of torque the computers wouldnt be going so crazy to interfere with limiting the engine. They should be able to get the power down with less torque.

Report Abuse
by pzigly | July 1, 2008 11:27 AM
I don't know who said that C63 can go to 60 in under 4 seconds? But what you are saying is not true. Take a look at this video on the (8min)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usQi1peqQOs) and you can see C63 beats Audi and BMW. And I don't agree with those who say that MB engines have to much power. MB buyers want to have the biggest engines. It's just about showing off. It's about owning an elegant, beautiful Mercedes with twice as much power as the sport version of any BMW. Tell me who races these days with such cars??? Nobody. It's about showing off and MB wins by a mile. And for those who can't buy MB they can always own BMW or Audi.

Report Abuse
by 3Iceman | July 1, 2008 12:19 PM
Im not saying it should have less power. The more power the better. But if your torque is too much you will be sitting there waiting till your tires grip while the others have accelerated to 30mph already. I know this one kid who raced his dads cl AMG against a civic for pink slips. The tuned civic was able to get the power to the ground while the benz failed to grip and the benz owner lost his car. So dont tell me races dont go on because they happen everyday to people who want to show other people up on the road. Also it doesnt matter who you are tires are expensive. Espically when they get eaten up and become unsafe. The tester on topgear was checking out the tires on the c63 they tested and they were showing the steel starting to come out of the tire as the odometer on the car read 40 miles.

Report Abuse
by pzigly | July 1, 2008 2:01 PM
You shouldn't listen to that guy on Top Gear because he is really stupid. Who drives his car like they did when they drive to work. How many people do actually turn off the TC while driving to work? And they mostly drove the car sideways. If I had such car I would turn off the TC only when I'm on the race track. And it's true - tires of this dimension are expensive! Guys on top gear don't care about cars, fuel or tires. In reality it's different.

Report Abuse
by 3Iceman | July 1, 2008 4:18 PM
Dont worry I know that he abused the car but they abused the other cars too. I know thats not how people drive to work, and that the tires will last you more that 40 miles. It was stupid that they said that. but a track test will show you what will happen if you want to have a little fun in the car. Fun in this tourque station will set you back probably over a grand in tires. Also with less tourque and more horsepower the car will launch like a rocket and will dispose of that crappy audi and annoying overly priced M3. Also the track results will be better as the merc will pop out of corners instead of being tail happy the whole time.

Report Abuse
by pzigly | July 1, 2008 9:42 PM
Can one get up close and PERSONAL to an inanimate object? Or was it easy copy to just reach for the cliches?

Either way, this car looks like a beast and perhaps yet another reason to NOT buy an SLR. As if the 599 wasn't enough.

Reply | Report Abuse
by bristol411s3 | July 1, 2008 11:42 AM
I am an industrial engineer and do wonder how MB handles that many models and engines and options and interior and exterior components, it is just crazy. Do the customers need that many models?

Reply | Report Abuse
by trailer | July 1, 2008 4:20 PM
I was just quoting what the Top Car, Motoring etc 3 of South africas magazines reported on the in June on their tests against the other two German sedans. TOut of the 3 Magazines the Merc C63 was reported to have been beaten by both cars reason being Mercs failure to lurch off the start line. due to wheel spin. The RS4 was the quickest to 100m dash due to the mere fact that it had better grip than the two rear driven cars.

The storeythough changed on a hot lap and if you can get hold of the Top car Mag June issue you will see that the Merc was slowest on a hot lap owing to it's enability to handle the bends etc It was the quickest on the stretch on the back stretch. Like in F1 the quickest and best car is the best allrounder - staright line speed, how rides the bends etc. Merc makes drag good drag cars and poor track cars. I think we are all seeing this at the DTM where Merc has started to get trumped by Audi, soon after the release of the A4.

Reply | Report Abuse
by Wisp | July 1, 2008 6:06 PM
I think one major point that a lot of people don't realize is that; to Mercedes, profiting from sales is of higher priority than impressing car enthusiasts. Same goes for BMW, but since BMW's target market consists of a younger group of people, then impressing car enthusiasts also means more sales.

Reply | Report Abuse
by Siavash77 | July 2, 2008 12:57 AM
all sounds good but this car needs to be lightweight unlike its other sl siblings already because of its exclusivity and because of a much needed replacement for the slr (although the slr was sick)

Reply | Report Abuse
by dbehmoaras | July 2, 2008 2:33 AM

Add Your Comment

Existing Users

Username
Password
remember me on this computer

New Users

Username
Email
Password
Comment
Autojunk.nl / Mercedes SL 65 AMG Black Series Spied Up Close
Latest Stories
Latest Photo Albums
Latest Poll
F1 Latest Stories
Subscribe to WorldCarFans Newsletter
Please enter your email in the following box and click subscribe to receive our daily email