jeanmarc

The release date is in Spring for the ML 63... that is for those of you who are lucky enough to live in Europe. The rest of us will have to wait it out until early fall to pick up this new hotness. Expect $85-$90k depending where you are (destination fees, etc.)

FYI, I'm the first on the list (at my dealership at least).. the story was that I called to see when they would be delivering and they were like "What are you even talking about?!".. After they did their research (calling MB corporate US headquarters) they gave me an answer and a week later they let me put a deposit down.

Here are some hot pics of this, click to enlarge.









can't wait!

PhilS

I was told the USA gets them in August 2006 by MBUSA. Also, based on the pricing in Germany I came up with a US base price of around $75,000. I then emailed the following to a contact at MBUSA to see if my logic was correct.

"In Germany the ML63 lists for 96.164.00 euros. The ML500 lists for 63.220,00 euros. So in Germany the ML63 costs 52% more than ML500. If I use that same logic with US prices, the ML63 should list for around $73,720. I arrived at that number by adding 52% to the ML500 price of $48,500."

His response was that my logic was sound and my price was in the "ballpark".

Since the last ML55 AMG was around $67,000, this makes sense. How much additional can they charge for a new engine?

I have had a deposit at my local MB dealership for about 2 months. I am the first in line there.

Phil

HLG600

It's going to be a showdown between the ML63 AMG and the Cayenne Turbo S. Looking forward to seeing a comparison.

PhilS

We already know the ML63 beats the Cayenne TS 0 to 60 mph. We know it is going to be considerably cheaper. What we don't know about the ML63 are other performance measurements such as speed thru a slalom, braking performance, skidpad, etc. For my money the ML63 looks very attractive compared to the overpriced Cayenne Turbo S. I can take the nearly $40,000 I will have left over from not buying the Cayenne and buy other things.

Phil

sprins

That is always good to hear

HLG600

As in the case with many high end German vehicles, the manufacturer's estimates are underrated. Practicality wise, you are correct, the ML63 is a much better choice for the Porsche is grossly overpriced. But I still am curious to compare some performance test data from the two.

Regards

sprins

Doesn't the Porsche roughly has twice the torque of the ML63?

PhilS

No.............

Porsche Cayenne Turbo
450 HP
460 ft/lb torque

Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
520 HP
530 ft/lb torque

ML63 AMG
510 HP
465 ft/lb torque

Phil

sprins

Go figure... I always thought a Cayenne Turbo had the same hp/torque as the 55 Kompressor engine. I stand corrected. And Porsche should be ashamed to have a N/A Mercedes engine kick its butt.

hanniep

I just want a ML63...so I will wait until the supply picks up

ClayJ

That new AMG NA V8 is one heckuva motor -- can you believe that output?!!!
And with the seven-speed auto it is going to be very interesting indeed to see how good the acceleration numbers are....

Scruffyone

Even better will be to see what Kleeman and Renntech do to it. An SUV that gives you nosebleeds on launch!

sprins

This I'll have to see. Since the motor by itself is already highly tuned, I'm wondering what Kleemann and others can do to improve the output (without the help of expensive blowers). The 55K engine is a delight for tuners to work on. It's a lazy engine with bad headers and mediocre camshafts can 'easily' be tuned. I'm afraid the 6.2l engine is already at its peak, since it is developped entirely by AMG (previous AMG engines always were tuned Mercedes engines).

But I may be wrong, perhaps the headers on the 6.2l are crap too :-)

Scruffyone

A guess on my part would be that NO manufacturer would release a new engine in its most highly tuned form, both as a cautionary move, and also as a marketing move. That way they can "find" another 15-20 hp each year after release. This would appeal to those who turn their cars over every year. Next years model always has more HP.

And on another note, my salesman just told me that his rep informed him(just late last week) that the ML63s will be here in July. They have my deposit and I will be able to write the real order in April.

PhilS

I hope that is true. I had originally thought the ML63 would be here in April/May based on the initial press releases that said either Spring 2006 or 2nd quarter 2006. When I was told it was August by my dealer (and by MBUSA) I was disappointed. July is a little better.

Phil

ClayJ

HAHAHAHAHA!

Can it ever be soon enough? Tomorrow would be nice! LOL

This Summer'll be soon enough for me.

medici78

Considering that, in Europe, the car is 30% more expensive and gas is 300% more, I would say I don't mind waiting a few months for it to appear stateside.

AsianML

sprins

To make all of you feel a lot better, price of the ML63 has just been announced in the Netherlands. That will be €138,100 (=aprox US$ 166,382). Bear in mind that that is around 45% tax (V.A.T. + 'added car tax')

Oh, and to make matters worse: 1 gallon of unleaded 95RON = US$ 6.30 over here at the moment.

NY_SG

Maybe they would either upsize the engine to 6.5 litre with like 600 horses and 500 torque? If not I probably think they would fit in Twin turbo the 6.3 litre.!!


What y'all think about that? I think brabus out beats all other aftermarket products.

Ted Baldwin

.............what do you base this on?

Ted

55fanatic

hmm not really sure where your gettin your numbers but I would bet that Kleeman and Renntech stroke that output and power the highest...

NY_SG

Just judging by the way they upgrade the engines of the current engines. All of their N/a engines they upsized it from 5.0 to 6.1 litre. Also for they have 6.3 biturbo engines, using mercedes benz 5.5. That's my guess, I don't think brabus would supercharge the engines.

55fanatic

while that is true... I think Kleeman and Renntech are the way you want to go with the tuning(for speed) they are most aggressive mercedes performance tuners, Kleeman in 2001 produced the fastest production SUV with the ML55K and I think the fastest sedan at some point with the E55 Kleeman they made...

NY_SG

For me I personally think brabus is the best tuner out there for mercedes benz. I suppose they are also one of the most expensive, actually wait they are the most expensive.

I heard more good things about kleemann then renntech. I heard alot of stories about renntech having motors blown or ECU not working. I went to a dyno run at long beach once they had a clk with renntech supercharger and it's not giving any power.