Carsales Staff•13 Nov 2013
NEWS
LA MOTOR SHOW: Mercedes-Benz S 65 AMG
But Aussie buyers will have to wait for S-Class coupe to experience sensational twin-turbo V12Got a spare €232,050 to spare? That's the going price in Europe for the new Mercedes-Benz S 65 AMG. Note that the price hasn't been converted to Aussie dollars, because the twin-turbo V12 sedan isn't coming here.
Scheduled for its global unveiling at the LA motor show next week, the S 65 AMG offers buyers more of everything. Starting with the Euro 6-compliant V12 powerhouse under the bonnet, output amounts to 463kW and 1000Nm, to propel the limo up to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds. Yet the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are reduced in this new (W222) variant. Those figures are now 11.9L/100km (2.4L/100km lower than before) and 279g/km – thanks in part also to the AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic transmission, which replaces the previous five-speed automatic.
The new S 65 introduces new technology in this sector of the market. Some of those new features are shared with lower-grade S-Class models, but the lithium-ion battery in lieu of a conventional lead acid battery is common to just one other S-Class variant, the S 63 AMG. Mercedes-AMG estimates the lithium-ion battery saves as much as 20kg of weight in the new S 65. Exclusive AMG features for the S 65 include the sports suspension (with Magic Body Control), speed-sensitive sports steering with variable steering ratio, forged light-alloy wheels (8.5x20 front and 9.5x20 rear), and the option of a ceramic braking system. Tyres for the AMG wheels measure 225/40 R20 at the front and 285/35 R20 at the rear.
The three-pointed star has posted a new video on its YouTube channel, featuring the S 65 AMG sedan on the road. Clearly the camera operator is smitten with the style of the new S-Class flagship, the way the camera pans and sweeps across the car's sculptured bodywork.
But the aesthetic highpoint of this video arrives at 1:10 when the distinctive V12 tone is first heard. Listen and enjoy, because that's a sound you won't hear on the road in Australia – not for a while yet, at least.
Mercedes-Benz spokesperson David McCarthy told Aussie journalists earlier this year that the fabulous V12 engine – rated at 430kW and 1000Nm – won't be available in locally-delivered S-Class sedans. It's possible that the engine will reach us eventually, under the bonnet of the S-Class coupe when that arrives.
You can watch (and hear) the S 65 AMG video – and then perhaps decide whether you would pay the extra money (at least €80,000 more in Europe) for four more cylinders and an extra 100Nm?
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Mercedes-Benz
S-Class
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Sedan
Performance Cars
Prestige Cars
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LA Motor Show
Written byCarsales Staff
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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