BLACK SERIES
Setting a car apart in the eyes of the automotive fraternity is no easy challenge. Yet, Mercedes-AMG had a stunning way to go about it. A much higher-performance, more hardcore track-oriented version of the already powerful AMG avatars of the cars came to be — the Black Series.
The first of its kind was the SLK 55 Black in 2007. Where the SLK 55 made 360 PS and tipped the scales at 1,540 kg, the SLK Black came in, as a Super Sport model, with 400 PS and was 45 kg lighter, too. With frontal aero made from carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and a 278-km/h top speed, it raised the bar for the naturally-aspirated 5.5, and with a good dose of attitude.
The CLK 63 Black Series followed in 2008, with 500 PS from the 6.3 V8, bringing staggering performance and inimitable style in one wholesome package. However, there was a third model that surfaced, and blacker than ever: the 2009 SL 65 Black Series.
More notable than any other fact was the fact that the SL 65 Black threatened to chew through its gearbox. Why? The M275 6.0-litre BiTurbo V12 came from the factory making 670 PS and around 1,200 Nm of torque. That torque had to be electronically limited to 1,000 Nm to ensure the AMG SpeedShift Plus 5AT sent it to the rear wheels. The M275 V12, as always, has been assembled — by hand — in Affalterbach.
The SL Black also saves 250 kg of weight thanks to components made from CFRP, while also ditching the traditional metal folding roof from the SL convertible. It sports 97-mm front and 85-mm rear wider track width, necessitating the flared wheel-arches. The wheels themselves were huge — 19-inchers with 265-sec rubber at the front and 20-inchers with 325/30s at the rear. Inside them were 390-mm brakes with six-piston callipers up front, with 380-mm rotors and four-piston biters in the back. Why all these hardware changes? The SL 65 Black Series hit 0-100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 11 seconds, and went on to an electronically-limited top speed of 320 km/h. It remains one of the most exclusive cars ever made by Mercedes-AMG.
Mercedes also launched the CLK DTM AMG, one of the hardest-core sports cars ever offered for sale, in 2004. Only 100 cars were available. Modelled after the racing version of the Mercedes-Benz CLK, power came from a supercharged 5.5-litre V8 with 582 PS and 800 Nm. That sort of force allowed it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds and go on to a top speed of 320 km/h. The CLK DTM AMG also had the goodies to back that sort of performance, from the Alcantara sports bucket seats and a speedo marked up to 360 km/h inside to the torsion suspension system, high-performance composite braking system, and reinforced multi-disc limited-slip diff. In fact, it represented motor sport technology transfer at the level of thoroughbred racing cars. Several components were made from CFRP: the bonnet, doors, front wings, rear wheel arches flaring, the front and rear aprons, as well as the rear aerofoil.
In 2006, the Cabriolet model of the CLK DTM AMG arrived. With a 0-100 km/h dash in four seconds and a top speed of 300 km/h, it became the fastest open-top four-seater sports car offered for sale at the time. As with the coupé, only 100 cars were available.
