Courtesy of AMG (and I strongly urge anyone interested in a 65-class vehicle to go to its headquarters in Affalterbach), I spent part of this afteroon tooling around Bavaria in a CL 65. I have no meaningful experience with other cars of this calibre, so please take my comments with that particular grain of salt, but never in my life have I had so much fun driving a car. It handles magnificently, but that aspect of performance is obliterated by the sheer accelerative power of this car. Truly, as one keeps one's foot down on the accelerator, the CL 65 keeps going faster and faster and faster. Passing is a joy and a thrill!

AMG allows a person to take the car out alone. To give all of you an idea of what this car is like, I have had "hot rods" almost all of my life. Nonetheless, when I first "pedaled to the metal" this CL 65 (I was going maybe 20 mph then due to local traffic), I shouted out "Holy ****!" The acceleration is that good.

So...what is the downside? Well, I have a CLS 55 on order which will be replacing my current 2004 E 55, which I really find uncomfortable. However, as a consequence of today's drive, I am already trying to develop a rationalization for an S 65 if not a CL 65.

Ouch!!

 

sounds like you had an awesome time

get the 65!!!

 

What gets me too is, if you spend 180K on a car, I wish they could unleash its full potential. I know the transmission can't handle it, but can you even image what that would be like? I also have an E55, and I am dreaming of getting an E65, if that ever comes out, or a CLS65. I haven't driven any of the 65s but, if I know what 516lbs feel like, just image 730 lbs. Or like I said before, 800+ lbs since that is what that engine is capable of.

I wonder if they could retrofit a transmission later on to handle to true power of the engine?

amgB

 

I just wish if they could unleash the full potential power of the car ... paying 180k for and restricted isn't fair enough.. although its damn so much fun even at lower speed.

 

IMO the 65 is purely for status, being the flahship and stuff, the 55s should do the job for most including me

 

Werd...get the 55 and from the money you save mod that and it'll be that much quicker

 

I've driven all four, the 55, the 600, the 65, and the Renntech 600 Stage III. The 65 and the 600 StageIII are about the same as far as I could tell (612 vs 635 hp, not much difference).

There's a huge difference from the blown V8s to the BiuTurbo 12s, but for the $180K (actually the dealer was asking 225K! for the 65), consider that you can probably pick up an '03 CL600 Sport for $90K and spend $6 on the Renntech upgrade. That's about HALF the price for virtually indisinguishable to all but other AMG enthusiasts.

It also leaves you $90,000 to spend on strippers and ****tail waitresses, if you're into that sort of thing.

Hey, when I previewed this message, it turns out you can't say ****tail! I'll bet you can't discuss your collection of Bruce ****burn albums eithers!

 

Just came back from driving the CL65 and I must say I was disappointed. To me it did not feel any stronger than the SL55 that I have driven and ridden in many times. It seems that the limiting factor here is the rear tires ability to transfer the power to the road. The CL65 motor is being dialed back constantly by the traction control system, consequently the full potential of the motor is not taken advantage of. Now, if the CL65 was 4-Wheel Drive all 738 lb. ft. of Torque could be used. Some other things I noticed was the higher stall speed Torque Converter which made it necessary to use noticeably more throttle position when just putting around town and this added to the off idle laziness and the lack of squirtyness (my terminology) compared to the SL55. What the SL55 does at 1/4 throttle instantly the CL65 takes 1/2 throttle and you have to wait for all it's systems to get wound up to go. This squirtyness of the 55 motor is what makes it a better choice for the streets of the USA. That instant gratification when you want to dart around a corner or accelerate around another car and it only takes a little throttle to do, as opposed to having to mash the throttle to the floor and still wait that little bit. Now put the CL 65 on the high-speed roads of anywhere else and I am sure it will be the monster it is said to be and the 65 motor is an awesome piece, MB just has it hooked up to the wrong drive train. Sorry for the negative report but that’s how I feel and especially if you are going to spend another $80,000+ you would think this thing would slam you into the seat and never stop, Not So! It all comes down to those two patches of rubber at the rear and how much Torque and HP that can be poured thru them. - Bob

 

Thanks for the info. I have been thinking about picking up a CLS65(if it comes out), or one of the 65, but, I don't know if I can justify the cost. Knowing that it has that much traction problems, the SL600 with a slight mods would give you the same as the SL65. I wonder if MB can fix this problem in the future. The 65 series really makes me amazed, so I hope there is some tuner that can figure out a way to put the power to the pavement.

 

The SL65 is the best 65 car because not only is it the fastest, it also possesses an LSD, 0-60 in 4 flat or slightly less (3.9) have been measured....

 

Even though I think your statement is a bit optimistic, a 65 still makes very little sense in the US or in the UK. Mercedes doesn't care as much about 1/4 mile track times or even 0-60 times (as long as they are slightly faster than the rest ), but these engines truly shine on the autobahn anywhere from 100-190mph.
As far as I know, there has been virtually no 65 delivered in Germany without the additional de-restriction.
After all, if Mercedes was after pure 0-60 times, all they need to do is to upgrade/supercharge a C55 and easily beat a 3.9 time.

But if you want the V12, then davepl has it right, get a slighty used 600 and upgrade it. Especially as these cars are almost at the end of their model life.

Personally, a 4 wheel drive AMG-SL or CL makes a whole lot more sense than more torque or horsepower. This way I get all that power on the road...

Wolfman

 

Benz doesn't have LSD. They all have open diff.
The limiting factor is the trans. It was never designed to handle torque of 600.
So with 65 - let's see when first cars will come back to dealer with blown drivetrain parts.


I know that early SL55 had problems with clutch packs.

 

Where have you read/substantiated this ? I have not been able to find anything yet to verify this.

 

I've been AMG shopping lately and I drove a 2004 CL55 with the Renntech 600hp upgrade and it was silly fast. Forget about flooring it at anything less than 50mph because the ESP kicks in big time. It felt like with ESP off it would light the tires up is floored at 50mph.

I drove a 2004 E55 last Friday and for me this seems about right for the US. Seat of the pants it feels much quicker than my '01 E55. Realistically even the E55 is overkill but I sure liked the w211. The most the dealer would give me on trade was $33k! Oh, he took 3k of MSRP for the '04 with 6k miles on it. I guess I'll be hanging onto my '01 for (quite) awhile longer.

 

http://www.amg-owners-club.org/board...=&hilight=sl65


"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."


http://www.einszweidrei.de/mercedes/sl65amg2004-1.htm

Test in ams 13/2004
Gewicht 2057 kg
0 - 80 km/h 3,0 s
0 - 100 km/h 3,9 s
0 - 120 km/h 5,1 s
0 - 130 km/h 5,9 s
0 - 140 km/h 6,6 s
0 - 160 km/h 8,2 s
0 - 180 km/h 10,1 s
0 - 200 km/h 12,6 s

 

According to everything else I have ever read this appears to not be the case. Wonder if this was an early DCAG release that may have changed.

Car and driver recently tested the SL65 in their magazine and commented that compared to the SL600, the traction was terrible with the increased power of the 65.

 

Adam, if AMS can get that sucker to do 62.5mph in 3.9, so 0-60 is probably 3.8, don't you think the LSD was helping>?

CD should not be trusted at all, they think "stock" Sl600's do 60 in 3.6 and F430's in 3.5

No-one ever said deploying 1000Nm was ever going to be easy.....

 

AMG is now making LSD's for cars which will be covered under the warranty. You can all contact Harris for more information. Seems like a "must have" if you really want to get all the power from the ///AMG's.

I have to buy wheels/tires first before I start modding this puppy!

 

Who knows Bilal.... Most magazines are totally full of crap in the first place. I just wish MBUSA or DCAG would post specs more clearly. Other than the quote you posted, no one has ever verified the claim and some at MBUSA tell me there is no LSD on production models straight out of the factory; Only after production.