2015 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG Coupe is the Plutocrat’s Muscle Car

Now that the former Mercedes-Benz CL-Class has reverted back to the S-Class Coupe designation, all is right in the House Gottlieb and Karl built. Well, except for the fact that the CL range was headed by the delightfully mad CL65 AMG and its fire-breathing 6.0L twin-turbo V12. Until today, there was no concrete evidence visible outside Mercedes-Benz and AMG that this super-duper coupe would survive the changeover; after all, the S63 AMG Coupe, with its 577 horsepower twin-turbo V8 and 4Matic all-wheel-drive (standard on U.S.-spec examples) is plenty potent for most people.

Thankfully, the model has survived as the 2015 S65 AMG Coupe. Like the latest S65 AMG Sedan, this tasty two-door hardtop gets its abundant motive force from AMG’s 6.0L twin-turbo V12, rated at 621 horsepower and 738 lb.-ft of torque. However much of that muscle that isn’t eaten up by parasitic losses within the AMG-tuned 7-speed automatic transmission is sent exclusively to the rear tires, meaning that unlike its eight-pot baby brother, the S65 can do glorious smoky burnouts all the way from the country club valet stand to the guard shack (theoretically, of course). If you get the rear hides to hook up, Mercedes AMG says you should be able to hit 60 mph from a standstill in 4 seconds flat and eventually hit the electronically-limited 186 mph top speed.

Unfortunately, at those speeds, onlookers can’t get a very good look at the S65 AMG Coupe’s tastefully-revised fascias and side skirts, mesh grille inserts, or spectacular 16-spoke polished 20” wheels. Nor can you take your eyes off the road long enough to study the lavish four-seat interior draped in diamond-quilted Nappa leather from Merc’s designo program. However, both of those drawbacks easily qualify as rich people problems; while the company hasn’t yet revealed the starting price for the S65 AMG Coupe, expect it to be a few grand higher than the sedan’s $222,000 base MSRP.

Source: Mercedes-AMG