By: IOL Motoring Staff
Affalterbach, Germany - Just when you thought it was safe to drive on the autobahn again, Mercedes has released full details of the S65 AMG Coupé - the new flagship of the two-door S-Class line-up.
Under the bonnet you'll find AMG's 5980cc biturbo V12 - aluminium crankcase, forged crankshaft in high-grade alloy steel, multi-spark ignition Air-to-water intercooler, the whole nine yards, delivering 463kW between 4800 and 5400rpm, and 1003Nm from 2300-4300rpm to the rear wheels via a seven-speed AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic transmission with three individual modes - Controlled Efficiency, Sport and Manual - selectable by pushing a button on the centre console.
That's enough to launch the 65 two-door to 100km/h in four seconds flat and on to an electronically controlled 297km/h.
MAGIC BODY CONTROL
The AMG sports suspension combines active body control, road surface scan and curve tilting function, allowing the car to lean into bends like a motorcyclist or skier, using a stereo camera behind the windscreen and a lateral acceleration sensor; it feels like driving on a banked curve.
Road surface scan detects surface undulations in advance with a stereo camera and magic body control then adjusts the suspension in advance to suit the situation, compensating for irritating chassis movement.
The S65 AMG Coupé runs on highly polished 20” forged-alloy mutispoke rims shod with 255/40 front and 285/40 rear tyres. Each of the 16 spokes twists so that the light-catching contours radiate to the centre of the wheel hub, where there's a forged-aluminium screw-on bolt cover that looks like a racing wheel-lock.
FIRST-CLASS CABIN
Special AMG sports seats trimmed in perforated, diamond-pattern nappa leather with contrast stitching feature electric adjustment, memory function, seat heating and climate control as standard, as well s contoured seat cushions and backrests for lateral support and AMG badges on all four backrests, and the front centre console.
The special instrument cluster displays revs, speed and much more on two animated round dials on the 310mm, high-resolution colour display.
Standard kit includes a head-up display for information such as the vehicle speed, speed limits, navigation directions and traffic signs, and a 63 x 43mm touchpad in the centre armrest for all the infotainment functions.
NEW STANDARDS IN SAFETY
Standard equipment for the S65 AMG Coupé includes a 360° camera, active parking assist with PARKTRONIC, distronic plus with steering assist, Pre-Safe, BAS Plus with cross-traffic assist, active blind spot assist, active lane keeping assist and Pre-Safe Plus.
The S65 AMG Coupé will be released in South Africa in November 2014; prices, as always, when they get here.