July, 2008
With the passing of one Mercedes-Benz supercar, another arises from the bowels of Affalterbach. September 2008 marks the end of SLR production and will just about coincide with the initial production of the next 200 mph street car from AMG, the SL65 Black Series.
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| Quite at home on a racetrack, the Black Series SL65 will be a great track day car. |
AMG's CLK63 Black Series began this program a few years ago to lukewarm response from North American buyers in spite of only 350 units being constructed. The new R230 chassis based V-12 edition should find eager buyers with only 200 allocated for North America. While we've had a general idea of the shape of the car via camouflaged images of it being thrashed around the Nurburgring, speculation regarding engine specification centered around an uprated 6.3 liter unit. Most pundits - including myself - were wrong as AMG decided to shoot for the moon with an uprated SL65 twin-turbo V-12 unit. They hit their mark, eclipsing the SLR's supercharged V-8 output with a massive 661hp.
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| Carbon-fiber seats, Speedshift Plus gearbox and 661 hp - performance heaven! |
This is a fixed roof SL. In the interest of weight reduction, the retractable roof and attendant hardware have been replaced by a carbon fiber roof with integral roll-over bar. This modification combined with a number of body panels constructed in Carbon Fiber result in a massive weight reduction of 551 lbs compared to the standard SL65. The new track calibrated suspension system does away the ABC (Active Body Control) system and works through the largest set of rear tires ever installed on a Mercedes-Benz street car, 325/30 ZR20s!
Technical highlights include:
- 2009 model
- 661 hp AMG 6.0 liter V-12 Bi-Turbo
- 4,123 lb curb weight
- 12% larger turbochargers
- Power retractable rear spoiler
- AMG SPEEDSHIFT PLUS 5-Speed Automatic Transmission w/rev matched downshift
- Widened front and rear carbon-fiber fenders, carbon-fiber hood and trunk lid
- Racing derived suspension
- Single interior color - Black AMG Premium Leather
- Carbon-Fiber interior trim
- No optional equipment
- 199 mph top speed electronically limited
- 0-60 in 3.6 seconds
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| Massive wheel arches shroud largest wheel/tire combo ever on a Mercedes street car. |
Deliveries begin in December and production is slated to end in mid-2009. If you're a candidate for this amazing car, call your local dealer to see if they have been allocated an example. Allocation is based on a dealer's calendar year 2007 AMG brand deliveries and most dealers will not receive a car.
The presumed $320k price tag begs the question of whether to buy a used SLR or one of these beasts. The same money will buy a never registered, delivery miles only 2006 SLR coupe. Which would you buy?
Roy Spencer,
editor www.ourSL.com
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