The boss says it best: “There are AMG fans for whom our V12 Biturbo engine is the measure of all things.” That’s Tobias Moers, the chairman of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, and he’s exactly right. The big coupes have always been about a carefully-measured amount of excess served in a long, slinky glass. In that mindset, its engine may be the measure of all things to AMG V12 connoisseurs, but it’s virtually unchanged from the outgoing CL65. It still makes 631 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque, but its wrapper is sexier than before.
It’s a conservative move for sure, but the V12 Biturbo buyer is more interested in the tradition and heritage of the engine. This is a tiny, insular world at the cloud-wreathed peak of the luxury market—the horsepower war moves slower in the rarified air up there. Performance isn’t compromised, either. Mercedes says the big coupe will reach 60 mph in just 4 seconds, and they electronically limit the car to 186 mph. More importantly to buyers, the S65 Coupe is subtly set off from its slightly lesser platform-mates with 20-inch polished 16-spoke wheels—and less subtly set off with the expected ‘V12 BITURBO’ badges in the expected places.
While Mercedes denied US buyers the Magic Body Control option on the just-arrived S63 AMG Coupe thanks to that model’s AWD-only layout, it appears they’ll sell American customers the adaptive suspension in the S65 Coupe. That means the big Benz will hunker into corners with the curve-tilt function, which uses hydraulic plunger cylinders to raise the lower spring mounting point on one side and to lower it on the other. As a reminder, this is purely a driver vanity function—it doesn’t offer any measurable cornering benefit other than driver enjoyment. Which, frankly, is sort of the modus operandi for the S65 AMG Coupe in a nutshell, isn’t it?
While prices haven’t been announced (and if you need to ask, et cetera), the S65 AMG Coupe will go on sale at the end of the year.
Check out the all-new S65 AMG Coupe inside and out in the photo gallery. Via: Road and Track
