Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series review

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Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series Road Test

Test date 08 April 2009 Price as tested £250,000

For Effortless performance, high grip levels, fine chassis balance

Against Boosty power delivery, gearbox not suited to track driving, firm ride

This is only the third Black Series model from Mercedes-Benz’s AMG high-performance subsidiary and, if the first two are anything to go by, it could go either way. The first Black Series model, based on the SLK, was so dynamically comical that it would struggle to outpoint a hot hatch. The CLK, on the other hand, was brilliant.

Which brings us to the SL65 Black Series. Like the SLK (and this is crucial to the Black Series ethos), it now has a fixed roof rather than the folding top of the regular SL. Black Series cars are intended to be stiffer and lighter, and that rules out stowing roofs.

Carbonfibre, meanwhile, abounds on the Black Series SL’s bodywork – including the construction of its new fixed roof and massive wheel arch extensions – while the car sports a modified version of the regular SL65’s twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12, which usually totes 604bhp. Here it has no less than 661bhp, which puts it on the list of the 10 most powerful production cars in history. As with the SLK and CLK, the Black Series SL carries a premium over the regular SL65, pushing its price to a very serious £249,500.