Instrumented Test
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Mirror, mirror, on the wall, what’s the spendiest Mercedes four-seater of them all?
There’s no feeling quite like realizing you’re not the proverbial smartest guy in the room. Especially when you actually spot him holding forth and think, “He reminds me of me, before…something happened.”
For the Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG, that something is the CL63 AMG. With a $216,205 base price and a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V-12, the CL65 has perched atop the Mercedes product range since its introduction in 2007. Yet the $153,905 CL63, introduced for the 2011 model year, will outperform it.
We managed “just” 4.5 seconds in a 0-to-60-mph sprint in the CL65, slower than factory estimates and a half-second slower than the CL63 endowed with a twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8 and the AMG Performance package ($7300). By the time the pillarless four-passenger coupe hits the quarter-mile mark, the gap shrinks, with the CL65 pulling to within 0.3 second when it rips through the traps in 12.6 seconds at 120 mph. The $55,000 you save should buy your daughter’s wedding gown or at least cover the catering deposit.
How can a 621-hp car with 738 lb-ft of torque get outrun by a nearly identical model that’s down 58 ponies and 74 lb-ft? Because “nearly” means they’re equipped with different transmissions and “identical” means they roll on the same size tires. The CL65’s five-speed automatic has wider gear ratios than does the seven-speed in the CL63, but the real killer feature of the CL63’s multiclutch transmission is launch control, which is absent on the conventional automatic in the CL65. And both monster motors are stymied in trying to put all that power down by their 275/35ZR-20 rear tires, making the superior output of the big V-12 as useful as a white crayon.
After you get over the traction limitations and a bit of lag at throttle tip-in, the V-12 accelerates like a meteor falling to earth. Its exhaust doesn’t bark as the V-8’s does and less of its noise enters the cabin, but the sound is like an avalanche. The steering is direct and appropriately weighted for the big car, and Mercedes’ active suspension system allows the CL65 to corner flat while remaining entirely comfortable. With 54 percent of its 4876-pound weight sitting over the front axle, the ability to induce instant oversteer with the throttle is useful. Should you attempt to use your CL65 as the world’s most expensive drift machine, however, the stability control will interrupt the fun even if you’ve switched it off.
After all, this isn’t a car for hooligans and ruffians, although we imagine some of them might have picked up nicely depreciated examples on the used market. Indeed, in its seventh model year, the CL65 AMG is not long for this world. Soon to be replaced by a coupe version of the forthcoming 2014 S-class, for at least another model year the CL65 will remain the priciest and most powerful Mercedes four-seater, even if it’s not even the fastest CL.
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE AS TESTED: $228,415 (base price: $216,205)
ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged SOHC 36-valve V-12, aluminum block and magnesium heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 368 cu in, 5980 cc
Power: 621 hp @ 4800 rpm
Torque: 738 lb-ft @ 2300 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 5-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 116.3 in
Length: 201.0 in
Width: 73.7 in Height: 56.2 in
Curb weight: 4876 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 4.5 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 9.2 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 14.9 sec
Rolling start, 560 mph: 4.9 sec
Top gear, 3050 mph: 2.4 sec
Top gear, 5070 mph: 2.3 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.6 sec @ 120 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 189 mph
Braking, 700 mph: 169 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.89 g
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 12/18 mpg
C/D observed: 16 mpg
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