2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
Black wins. Few sports cars stand a chance against the SL 65 AMG Black Series. With twelve cylinders and 670 hp, the black bullet brings Formula 1 to the road.
By Sebastian Viehmann
The black car winds its way gently through Lombard Street in San Francisco. Where in films like "Is what, Doc?" wild chases made cinema history, in reality, of course, you only move at a snail's pace. A few tourists frantically take snapshots, as if they suspect that this opportunity might never come again. Because the black monster that sneaks out of the exhaust with a quiet babble over the red pavement is one of only 350 copies. Many collectors from all over the world will be fighting over the SL 65 AMG Black Series. 175 of them go to the USA, not a few of which are likely to end up in California. "The Golden State is the booster for the development of AMG," says company boss Volker Mornhinweg.
670 PS and 1000 Newton meters
California, of all places. Nowhere in the US do you see so many Toyota Priuses as here. Even on the autobahn it is over at 100 km / h, deviating from motorbike cops with screeching tires ask to pay. In the black AMG racing car, most of the twelve cylinders under the carbon fiber hood seem to be boring. With the 670 horsepower and 1000 Newton meters of torque, you could meet for a skat round, because they are hardly challenged either. Nevertheless, thumbs up often accompany the SL on the highway.
As a greeting, the rear spoiler of the Black Series can be retracted and extended at the push of a button. Large openings in the front apron fan the six-liter machine with fresh air. The air inlets in the hood are reminiscent of the distinctive “Power Bulge” hoods of old American muscle cars.
Sensitivity to the pedal is required
Shortly before the car approaches the Laguna Seca Raceway, a few throttles shake the engine out of its slumber. The asphalt strip of the racetrack shines dull in the sun, and the Black Series seems to have arrived at home. After all, it was designed by AMG Performance Studio, which is also responsible for the Formula 1 Safety Car and Medical Car. At full throttle, the 1000 Newton meters - without electronic limitation it would even be 1200 - fall mercilessly on the rear axle, and two turbochargers shovel exhaust air in a piece.
Despite traction control and limited-slip differential, the concentrated power doesn't really know how to use it on the asphalt. Only with a little sensitivity on the pedal can you tame the monster. The roar of the twelve-cylinder puts the hair on the back of the neck into rhythmic gymnastics and makes you almost forget how quickly 3.8 seconds can be over: the speedometer needle hits the 100 mark this early before it strives towards higher spheres.
Car sticks on the road
Before the “Andretti Hairpin” hairpin bend, the car reaches 220 things. Now the ventilated and perforated composite brake discs are required, even if they don't feel quite as toxic as at Porsche. After a few hairy combinations, the racetrack throws itself into the «corkscrew» - the famous steep corkscrew, the course of which cannot be seen from the cockpit, but only guessed at. The sudden load changes leave the coilover suspension of the Black Series cold. Compared to the normal SL 65 AMG, the black series has 115 millimeters more track width on the front and 103 millimeters more on the rear axle. The car doesn't just lie on the road, it sticks to her.
A five-speed automatic system with various programs and shift paddles ensures that the gears are sorted. In the manual programs, the transmission does not automatically downshift even at full load, so that in the selected gear you can enjoy the engine's pulling power at will. After a couple of laps, the brakes really deserved a cool down.
Racing and luxury
AMG is calling for 327,250 euros for the SL 65 AMG Black Series. It could probably cost half a million as well, making it even more desirable as a toy for the super-rich. On board is everything that Lewis Hamilton has to do without in his Formula 1 racing car - a comfortable interior in nappa leather and Alcantara, a navigation system and a sound system. When you switch on the ignition, the needles of the speedometer and tachometer move quickly and expectantly to the stop and back again, starting at the push of a button.
You have to assume that most Black Series models - which, by the way, are also available in other paintwork - get little more to see than palm-lined boulevards, hotel driveways and the occasional motorway. At night in the guarded underground car park you will dream of the Corkscrew, the Döttinger Höhe or the Hockenheimring. And from a straight that is long enough: the top speed of the Black Series is only electronically limited at 320 km / h.
