With roadster season almost upon us, it does a daydreamy brain good to see that Mercedes has offered up details of its new Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG, due in European showrooms this fall.
The AMG 6.0-litre V12 twin-turbo engine develops a max 630 hp (up from 612) and 738 lb-ft of torque. And, they’ve made it lighter too boot — 170 kg shaved off total, led by the use of an all-aluminum bodyshell (versus the steel design of the previous model), which also contributes to improved fuel efficiency. It’s a 17% improvement, to be precise, which is pretty significant when you’re talking about 12 cylinders — it’s down to less than 10L/100km.
Acceleration from zero to 100 km/h takes four seconds, and it has an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h.
For the first time, Mercedes has combined the 6.0-litre V12 with its AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-TRONIC, whose wide gear ratios and subsequent lower engine speeds also contribute to the fuel savings.
They even shaved 5 kg off the trunk lid, using for the first time on a volume-produced model an inner support made from carbon-fibre composite.