Flagship of the Fleet


Think it's easy driving the 2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG? Think again, Bud. With 205 inches of car weighing 5,100 pounds wrapped around 12 cylinders of twin-turbocharged engine pumping out a monstrous 604 horsepower at 5,100 rpm and an astounding 738 pound-feet of torque at 2,000 rpm, trust us, you will need all the help you can get — no matter how good you think you are.

This Mercedes-Benz S65 will get you in a whole heap of trouble real quick. Oh sure, you can blast up the left lane and lesser, mere automobiles will scatter to the right in deference to the S65. And when you come up on the dolt ahead who refuses, or is too dumb, to move right despite even the headlight flash, you can quickly dispatch him with disdain as you flick the huge car to the right, tip in a little throttle, then swing back left and around him. Look in the mirror and you're a thousand yards ahead of him. He's no longer even an inconvenience.

Do much of this type of driving, though, and you're suddenly doing a buck-ten in a 65 zone. Yikes! The guys at the San Bernardino station of the California Highway Patrol would like to have a word with you.

In and Out of Trouble

Happily, the S65 will also get you out of trouble just as quickly. For instance, as you're about to run up the ass of that '79 Toyota pickup ahead of you at a buck-ten — yes, that one overloaded with the 68 mattresses — a giant computerized electronic hand comes out of the ether and lessens tension on the accelerator pedal and applies the brakes for you. It's called Distronic Plus and it's just one of the myriad technological miracles bristling from this magnificent automobile.

Well, what would you expect from the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz fleet? For $190,000, you should expect a flagship bearing technological miracles. The S65 will not disappoint. This car is the absolute king of the road and driving it will make you king of the hill.

Start with the interior and the miracle of active seats. Yes, of course they're leather. But you can get leather in a Hyundai Sonata. No big deal. What is a big deal are the optional multicontoured sport seats, which our test car had. There are hundreds of settings for various levels of firmness both in the seatbacks and bottoms.

But the most fascinating setting inflates and deflates side bolsters as you drive. Corner left and the right-side bolsters inflate, then just as quickly deflate as you straighten out. Corner right and the left side activates. They even work going around your own corner and down the block. It's fascinating for the first 10 miles. Then we shut it off.

Is It Needed?

At first, we questioned this technology (and many others) in a car like the S65. After all, how many incredibly wealthy 68-year-old men or 75-year-old women — average age of S-Class buyers — are going autocrossing in an S65, and would need active seat bolsters? Well, as they say in the Benz TV commercials, a few will. But then, nothing about this car bears any relation to need.

It's all about having it because you can. There's also the fact that many of the buyers of cars like this simply walk into their Mercedes dealer every three years and ask, "What's the best model this year?" The current answer is the S65. Sold.

These old CEOs don't even ask about the price. But should they be so gauche, base price is $181,500. Our test car wore three extra-cost options: Distronic Plus for $2,850, active ventilated seats front and rear for $1,690 and the panorama sunroof for a grand. Add the $775 delivery charge and the $2,600 gas-guzzler tax and it all adds up to $190,415. Or a simple swipe of your American Express Black card, Mr. Redstone.

Then the Fun Begins

The five-speed automatic transmission is a neat piece. You can control it by sticking it in Drive with the column-mounted selector lever or play with it with, well, not exactly shifter paddles, more like shifter buttons on each side of the trick steering wheel — a steering wheel, by the way, ergonomically weighted and balanced for performance driving.

It seems odd that the S65 gets a five-speed when every other Benz, even the V8-powered S63, gets a seven-speed transmission. But the fact is this: The S65's twin-turbo V12 makes so much stomp — more than 700 lb-ft of torque — that the seven-speed just can't handle it. Don't worry about it. The five-speed is the same well-geared and responsive unit we praised in the old SL55 and E55 AMG models.

Speaking of torque, we must say there is something supremely entertaining about doing a brake rev burnout in a $190,000 car where you smoke the tires through 1st gear, hit the shift button and smoke them again halfway through 2nd. That's with the electronic stability program switched off, of course.

With it on, we once floored it away from a light. The car had full traction off the line, but then as all that torque came on at 2,000 rpm, the engine actually overcame the ESP and broke the tires loose at the top of 1st gear. That's how much you have under your right foot in an S65 AMG.

On a test track, the S65 turns numbers that would have two-seater sports cars drooling, and competition like the Audi S8 and BMW Alpina B7 cowering in the corner. Zero to 60 came up in just 4.4 seconds and quarter-mile times were 12.6 seconds at 115 mph. Remember, this beast weighs 5,100 pounds! Still, that's two ticks off the 12.4 run by the last CL600 we tested.

In our slalom test, the big S65 ran our course in 66.3 mph — just flat quick. On the skid pad, it registered an exceptional 0.90g.

The Exclusive Factor

Other than the engine and transmission, though, the S65's exclusivity starts to wane. Its sibling Mercedes, the V8-powered S63 AMG, is the exact same size and has the exact same wheels and tires, suspension and brakes.

Look underneath either car and you'll find an AMG-tuned four-link front suspension and a five-arm multilink rear suspension with huge antiroll stabilizer bars at both ends, plus a computerized Active Body Control system that just about completely eliminates any body roll. Both cars also pack 20-inch wheels, 8.5 inches front and 9.5 inches rear. Tires are 255/35ZR20 front and 275/35ZR20s rear.

Handling is way more than good. It's precise. In fact, this big car drives a lot smaller and lighter than its specs would indicate. You can actually toss it around, hit apexes and carve up traffic, thanks in no small part to the unbelievable torque that is fully available in a flat line from 2,000 all the way up to 4,000 rpm.

Buy either the S63 or S65 and be astonished by the performance of the brakes — monster 15.4-inch perforated and ventilated discs front and 14.4-inchers out back. They haul the S65 down from 60 mph in a scant 111 feet.

Just looking at the brakes is thrilling. The calipers are huge, nearly encircling half the rotors.

The Differences

If so much is the same between the flagship S65 and the "lesser" S63, why should anyone spend the extra $55,000 for the S65? Good question. Here are the differences. For one thing, the S63's V8 produces "only" 518 hp at 6,800 rpm and "just" 465 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. So you get an extra four cylinders, 86 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque for your $55 grand.

Then there's the S65's better fuel mileage. Fuel mileage? Did someone say fuel mileage? It's a bit ironic that while Mercedes-Benz was touting its fuel-efficient F700 future big car at the Frankfurt auto show, we were testing this twin-turbo V12 S65 which is rated 13 city/20 highway. Ironically the smaller-engined S63 carries an even worse 11 city/17 highway EPA rating.

So much for green.

But it's hard to cry for poor old Mother Earth after you feel the S65 gather speed. You'd swear it's being towed behind John Force's Funny Car. Even Ed Begley Jr. would want another rip around the block. Tires smoking, of course.

Think it's easy driving the 2007 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG? Think again, Bud.


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M

I'm falling less in love with the S Class all the time... it has no charcter and soul it seems like its all production line... even the interior is great but its lacking because it all looks so robotic...

Nah, the S-class kills the CLS in terms of design. I wouldnt say no to a black S500

Designo engine cover?

Interesting...

Looks like a picnic table... nice and flat and the emblem is the round-table for all the dressings

Nice car but I would take the S 63!

LMAO

S class has a shit load of soul imo..
maybe the most of any car in the MB lineup.. ( SL is up there aswell)

Did anyone stop to look at those numbers?? Good God! the handling is said to be very precise with a slalom speed of 66.3mph, Skid-pad, 0.90g and braking, 60-0 in 111ft. Those number are about the same as the f/l M5.

Coming from a 5100lbs sedan that f incredible!!