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Yes, impressive!
But imo oh so very pointless!
MB is trying to change its image and attack other market niches in a very cost-effective but inefficient way.
They still can't make a car that steers with good feedback or a chassis that can really put to the road more than 350 hp but now they give you 612 hp and God knows how many NMs of torque!
Good job...



Luigi, why pointless?

I testdrove a CL 600 yesterday and I must say that the engine is impressive. For it's weight, the car handles very well.
Now I try to give you some food for thought: imagine you're married and have kids, imagine you are 35-50 years old and already have had your fun on the track, imagine that you have to drive a lot on the Autobahn and imagine that you need some comfort too because starting with 30, health problems arise. Just imagine...

I guess Mercedes found the solution for combating increased weight: power, indefinete power. The CL 65 AMG with 612 HP will surely outrun any Porsche out there and might even put the Carrera GT in trouble when it comes to 0-300 kph acceleration. Does this sound crazy? Yes, it does. But it is impressive too. I mean look: how many people will drive their Enzo or Carrera GT on the street or even on the track? Right, probably 10% if not less. So the CL 65 AMG actually puts Ferrari and Porsche to the shame, even if these cars can't really be compared.

The only thing I find crazy about these power upgrades is the inferior driver capability. Most people buying such power monsters won't be pros, they're just ordinary business men buying a powerful car. I bet that the ESP system on the CL 65 AMG will have a lot of work to do.

Lowering weight is not really possible anymore without substantially raising cost. Mercedes learned that and I guess the future models from Ferrari and Porsche won't be lower in weight either. I truely hope that Ferrari and Porsche increase power too because this is the only way how they can stay in business on a longterm run.

And last but not least: we did a 996 Turbo vs. E 55 AMG testdrive a few days ago and from 0-200 kph, both cars were almost head to head with half a meter advantage for the E 55. From 200 kph to around 275 kph, the E 55 left the 996 Turbo behind, especially at speeds over 220 kph.

So from the point of view of everyday driving, the E 55 is the faster car. It is not as fast as the 996 Turbo in curves but for the normally experienced driver, it is good enough.
BTW: the E 55 is around 130 kg lighter than the SL 55.