Well I guess it's almost time for the hype to start up again as we all anticipate the arrivals of the 2005 CL65's. My Mercedes sales rep. has already informed me that they learned their lesson(s) with the last go around on the 2003 SL55's & CL55's when they took deposits with the majority of us on the "wait list(s)" assuming window sticker pricing.

So now, no deposits and no wait lists on the CL65. Strickly, "What the market will bear" verses any historical relationships.

My hunch: with the low allotment to the USA, most will go to VIP's.

Breeze

"What the market will bear" turned out to be MSRP or below on the CL55 and CL600, at least if you watch eBay and AutoTrader.

The CL65 is impressive, but not significantly different enough to justify the price.

Curious to see if my tuned CL600 will equal the perf numbers for the CL65...

My father has a deposit on a CL65 at MSRP. Should be here this summer. Should be fun to dyno.

Personally I don't think it is going to be worth what MSRP will end up being. I have heard rumors of approx $185,000.

At that price I would seriously consider other things.....

From what I have read, the CL65 will use even bigger rotors that the current CL55. 15.9" rotors at the front and 14.6" rotors at the rear.

The transmission has been upgraded as well with some heavy duty components. The rear differential is beefed up with interior components as well as a heat sink !

Bigger turbos and intercooler as well will be used vs the 600 engines.

I wonder what tuning will bring or if this engine is close to the brink as is.

I don't think it can be close the brink, since even with larger turbos and more displacement it makes less horsepower (612 vs 625) and less torque (745 vs 750) than my 600.

So I imagine there's room to grow :-)

- Dave

Speaking of which, how are the RennTech upgrades you added ?

Don't know yet, they're sitting on my desk waiting for my return to install them!

I've also added the full manual mode to the trans, but of course I don't have the steering wheel buttons. Since I already have a wood wheel I don't think its worth the upgrade price to go to the wheel you've installed, but it would be nice to have the buttons at times... it's not SMG, but it still might be fun!

-

I will look again, but I think it would be possible to make 2 rectangle holes in the rear of your wheel if you wanted to mount the OEM buttons.

The only thing I don't know about is hooking the wiring up to the hub. Not sure if you would need a different hub to do that.

I suppose you would probably just need the connector which would more than likely fit in your hub and then connect in with a harness somewhere.

Just saw Breez's post. It is hard to believe that MB dealers truly expect premiums on CL65's, especially if the MSRP is about $185k. They must think that people have no access to market pricing, even if they do not have access to auction clearing prices of 03 CL's. The 65 is an awesome car and if one needs to own such capability, so be it, but the CL55 has more than enough capability on US roads for me. $185k is close to enough to buy a used '03 CL55 and a used '02 or possibly '03 996 TT X-50, which should be enough performance to satisfy almost anyone. I am not even sure if 360's are going for premiums these days.

The mark up will happen due to the very limited availability of the 65's . I bet they command $50k over MSRP in the aftermarket.

If MB limits availability of the 65, then I suppose collectors will pay up. MBUSA certainly did not limit CL55 availability.

You got that right. This is the reason I still have my 2001 CL55

Don't feel like giving it away



Supposedly the 65's will be limited. Even more limited than the 2001-2002 AMG units.

CL500 in 2000 was selling with 30k premium because it was new.
CL65 looks like a 5 year old car with a hot engine,it will not sell for more then MSRP!

We shall soon see I guess. You know the old adage by PT Barnum, "There is a sucker born every minute".

I still can't get over the fact that this thing is going to have 16 inch rotors stock. Thats just ridiculous!16 inch rotors ???!!!!

Since they had to electronicly limit the torque, I doubt you can tune the engine a lot.. it'll rip the transmission apart

Does anyone know if its a different transmission than the CL600/CL55? I upgraded my trans ECU to what Renntech said was CL65 specs, but I though there were physical changes as well.

Oh well, its under warranty for a while :-)

This is what I was able to dig up from the SL65 press release from Europe. I assume the CL65 will have the same trans:

AMG SPEEDSHIFT with steering-wheel controls and asymmetric differential lock

In the SL 65 AMG power is transmitted by the AMG SPEEDSHIFT 5-speed automatic transmission with steering-wheel gearshift controls and manual mode. In keeping with the tremendous levels of power and torque available, a number of measures have been taken to optimise key transmission components – including the adoption of newly developed clutch pack discs and modified shift and torque-converter-lockup logic. There are also special drive shafts, larger hub carriers and wheel bearings and special spring links at the rear axle.

In the reinforced rear axle differential case, fitted with a heat sink, is a mechanical, asymmetric, multiple-disc limited-slip differential with a lock factor of 40 percent under load. This ensures good traction, particularly with a very sporty driving style. With the modified acceleration skid control system, which is equipped with traction logic, the high engine output can always be optimally transmitted to the road.

So I guess I have the "modified shift and torque-converter-lockup logic", but there are apparently physical improvements too.

I'd kill for a limited slip diff in this car.