It has been 50 years that AMG, the performance arm of German luxury icon Mercedes-Benz, have been creating exclusive rockets on wheels. In our third feature, we look at some cars that have become legends in their own right — the exclusive Black Series models, the CLK DTM AMG, the SLR, and the Nürburgring-conquering Zonda R.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Daimler, Pagani and Mercedes-Benz
In our first part of the series, we saw how AMG began as a collaborative effort between two passionate speed engineers and a company that recognised and rewarded potential. Mercedes-AMG began in 1999 and they haven’t looked back since. From the 300 SEL 6.8 to the wondrous E 55, AMG have gone from strength to strength and began branching. One of the more hardcore models of the time was a rare work of power engineering: the SL 65 Black Series.
For a while now, on the performance plane, Mercedes-AMG 63 and 65 cars have created their fair share of loyalists. Among the most flexible iterations, so to speak, is the 63 line. Not only did the M156 V8 engine stay true to the numbers back then — with the massive 6,208-cc bringing the power — it also was a naturally-aspirated brute that sounded like the war-cry of bellowing biped grizzly bears. From 444 PS in the very limited S 63 back in 2001 (produced for only one month) to the unprecedented 631 PS in the SLS Black Series of 2014, it had been an absolute star performer, pun most definitely intended.
Amidst arguments that it was a 6.2 and not a 6.3, Mercedes clarified that it’s about heritage. The V8 would be ’63’. The ’65’ was reserved for the higher plane — that of the V12s.
The ’63’ became a popular badge, and how! Everything from the C-Class sedan to the R-Class luxury seven-seater had one. Power output varied by some margins — the C had 457 PS, the CLK had 481, the R and ML had 510, while the E, S, CL and SL had 525 PS. The 2006 CLK 63 also marked the début of the AMG SpeedShift 7G-Tronic transmission.
Next page – AMG Black Series >
