Mercedes-Benz AG – Global Communications Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans
The answer is always “AMG Black Series.” The questions will inevitably vary: what’s the most performance-oriented Mercedes you can buy? What happens when Afflaterbach’s tuning wizards are unleashed with no constraints? What are the rarest Mercedes out there? What just blew my doors off?
Since 2006, one short year after Mercedes-Benz wholly absorbed once-independent tuner Aufrech, Melcher, and Großaspach, the bean counters at Mercedes wondered what would result if certain vehicles were crafted with extreme performance; a track car that’s road legal. Only two-door coups receive this special treatment of weight reduction, power increases, and chassis improvement, and there have only been six options in the last two decades.
On the secondary market, the finest examples now go for seven figures, though in the past year, some Black Series cars have sold on sites like Bring a Trailer for less than $100,000. A more typical expectation these days, depending on model, year, and condition, is between a quarter-million and a half-million dollars, the SLS AMG Black Series being the most coveted. That’s also around what the most recent Black Series cost new, the AMG GT Black Series, which started at $325,000 and only went up from there.
And while all Black Series Mercedes cars are incredible for what they are, some are more incredible than others. Let’s rank them.
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Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG Black Series
Image Credit: Daimler AG The one that started it all: the 2006-2007 SLK 55 Black Series. A scant 120 units were made, none of which were sent to America. Apart from the flared fenders, the exterior may closely resemble its non-Black Series SLK55 counterpart, but it’s hiding a heap of upgrades to the chassis, including a fixed carbon fiber roof, a reinforced chassis, and manually adjustable suspension components. The 5.5-liter V8 generates 400 horsepower and 338 lb-ft of torque, propelling the coupe to 60 in 4.5. It’s the least thrilling and the least pleasing on the eyes, but legends start somewhere, right?
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Mercedes-AMG CLK 63 AMG Black Series
Image Credit: Daimler AG There are hints of DTM inspiration on the CLK63 Black Series, but it’s visually tamer compared to the designs that follow. Still, the 2008 CLK63 AMG is no slouch under the hood. The M156 6.2-liter V8 is the last iteration before forced induction and a displacement reduction, and the sound of those 500 horses at full gallop is particularly delicious, thanks, in part, to a bespoke, shoutier exhaust system. About 700 units were made.
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2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series
Image Credit: Mercedes-Benz A gullwing Black Series? Now we’re talking. Only 350 of these SLS Black Series were built starting in 2014, with more than 200 imported into the United States. Under the bonnet is the final variant of the prodigious M156 engine (though it’s called the M159 in this application due to a dry-sump lubrication system) is a handcrafted 6.2-liter V8 engine, good for 622 horsepower and 468 lb-ft of torque in this tune. The SLS Black Series gets a diet of 150 pounds from its regular SLS brethren by swapping traditional build materials for carbon fiber. Other fun perks of bumping up to black: a higher redline—8000 rpm—a shorter rear gear for enhanced acceleration, and a titanium exhaust. The only downside: it’s a bit hard to shut the door once you’ve clambered inside, especially for shorter hot shoes.
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Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series
Image Credit: Mercedes-Benz The 2012 C63 Black Series ticks many good boxes: Wide body. Adjustable suspension. Forged rims. Not a bad angle on the car. Power comes from a 6.2-liter V8, with 510 horsepower and 457 lb-ft of twist, and the exhaust note is raucous. A hair over 800 units were produced and sold and for those wishing to spend more than the sticker price of $125,000 could opt for the AMG Track package. Here, you get a rear seat delete (shaving off some 70 pounds), stickier R-compound tires, and a beefier transmission cooler. Want to keep going? Add on the aerodynamics package, netting you a carbon splitter, flics on the front fascia, and an adjustable rear wing—though you can’t take it off; removing it upsets the car’s balance, per Affalterbach engineers. Given that only 90 units made it stateside, it’s quite rare.
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Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Black Series
Image Credit: Mercedes – Benz – Global Communications Mercedes – Benz Cars & Vans Our penultimate entry is the most powerful option on our list: the 720-horsepower 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series. It features an overhauled version of AMG’s standard 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8. What’s new? Camshafts and a flat-plane crank, bestowing the coupe with a hellish sound (aided by a custom exhaust). Costing a shade above $380,000, this model features the highest Black Series production numbers: just over 1,700 units were made. With 590 lb-ft of torque available, and carbon fiber employed wherever possible, the AMG GT Black Series boasts a host of incomparable numbers: 882 pounds of downforce (at 155 mph), a 0 to 60 time of 2.9 seconds, a top speed of 202, and sub-7 minute Nürburgring Nordschleife time—nabbing a record for fastest production car. It’s clearly got the performance chops, but it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing option.
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Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series
Image Credit: Daimler AG, press departement Our victor is powered by a 6.0-liter V-12, plucked from the standard SL65 coupe, but it’s anything but stock. This engine was developed by HWA, a company that had been overseeing AMG’s racing initiatives. Reworking the turbos, increasing the intercooler, intake, and exhaust, and with a little tuning, HWA managed to get a staggering 662 horsepower and a whopping 738 lb-ft of torque, affording a sprint to 60 in 3.6 seconds; wild integers for 2009, when the SL65 Black Series arrived. Only 350 units were built. The $400,000 coupe ditches the retractable roof in favor of an integrated roll bar in the fixed roof, but you won’t miss the wind blowing through your hair. It’s the winner not because of its brutal performance, nor because its wide body simply doesn’t have a bad angle; it wins because despite it being 15 years old now, that design is as timeless as it is fierce.
Authors
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Sean Evans
