2005 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

SL 65 SL65 AMG V12 Biturbo Convertible Convertible

6.0L 36-Valve V12 Engine 604 HP

Automatic With Paddle Shifters

WDBSK79FX5F100452

Clear

Gasoline

This supercar is absolutely the best value in a very high performance used sports luxury car on the market today. This car is in perfect mechanical condition, its cosmetics are outstanding and it possesses a perfect Carfax. A few months ago I drove this car on a 600 mile trip and it performed flawlessly and it is ready to take a trip of any length immediately. This auction has no reserve and the opening bid is far less than other similar SL65's on the market. The original cost of this car was nearly $200,000 in 2005! It can be bought for a fraction of that today. Very few of these were imported each year. The new SL65 uses the exact same engine and most of the drivetrain as this car. The specifications are amazing: 604 horsepower, 738 pound feet of torques, 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds, US governed top speed is 156 mph, European models that are ungoverned, top speed is 205 mph. The acceleration of this car is absolutely awesome sounding like a jet airplane taking off with enormous brakes to match and fabulous handling. However, in spite of the power, this is a very easy and safe car to drive and it has a reliable Mercedes Benz drivetrain that can be driven for many years to come. It possesses every safety feature, power assists, navigation, performance automatic with paddle shifters, etc. It has a power hardtop which is stored in the trunk and automatic roll bar which pops up in the event of an accident. These specifications are similar to many exotic cars of the same era. However, service on this car costs a fraction of what other exotic car service does and this car gets 20 mpg on the highway and most exotics get half of this. This car is in excellent condition, has 72,112 miles on it (which is 7200 miles per year). It spent the first half of its life in Albuquerque, NM and has never been driven in inclement weather. I have owned it since 2011 and have driven it about 22,000 miles. The service records from the previous owner in Albuquerque are available from Mercedes Benz and I have always had it serviced by the Mercedes dealer in Syracuse, NY and I was meticulous about the service and all of those records are available online. Earlier this year I had the major computer/coil system replaced at a cost of about $4000 and it recently had the major service performed. It is in perfect mechanical condition and could make a trip of any distance at all. The paint and interior is in excellent to near mint condition with only a few very minor defects. This car is priced at a fraction of its cost new and at some point, as happens with all exotics, the price of older SL65's will start to increase. Please call Walter Miller at (315) 432-8269 with any questions. Car is located in Syracuse, New York. The following is an abbreviated 2005 Car and Driver road test of the SL65 AMG: Some might argue that the 604 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque packed into the SL65 AMG are too much power and thrust for a road car. They're wrong. No, the SL65 doesn't have too much power. After you drive the SL65, every car will feel underpowered. And making other cars feel anemic is exactly the goal of a global horsepower race. So with the SL65, Mercedes has removed a glove and slapped the face of the entire industry and issued a very big challenge. Admittedly, there are cars with more horsepower, and there are cars with better power-to-weight ratios. Two of them are the Ferrari Enzo and the Porsche Carrera GT, but those sex kittens can't touch the torque offering of the SL65, and more important, they aren't cars that can be used daily as easily as can the SL65, which is no more difficult to drive every day as the half-as-expensive, half-as-powerful SL500. There are a few things that make the SL65 worth the extra $90,800 over an SL500, one of which is the twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V-12, a 467cc-larger version of the engine in the SL600. All that oomph makes it nearly impossible to launch the SL65 hard without excessive wheelspin. Hang on for 11.9 seconds and you'll be going 123 mph, 3 mph faster than the SL600. The character of the SL65 is as different from the similarly fast SL600 as Ali is from Tyson—class versus a bit crass. Since the SL65 has the full AMG treatment—the SL600 doesn't—it gets a more aggressive body kit that includes a front bumper with a wider mouth that accommodates larger intercoolers. There is also a rich, deep-throated free-flowing exhaust that actually sounds like a turbocharged V-12. Further tweaks ditch the SL600's 18-inch wheels and add larger two-piece 19-inch wheels filled by 15.4-inch rotors clamped by enormous eight-piston calipers up front and 14.2-inch rotors with four-piston calipers doing the squeezing in back. The SL65's brakes have deep reserves that stop the 4494-pound roadster from 70 mph in 160 feet. Other than that caveat, the brakes give no hint of fade and inspire confidence when you kick the pedal at 145 mph. This Benz needs a lot of room to exercise. Punch the throttle on the road, and you'll fly by the cars next to you and reach the cars ahead of you instantly. The passing power never gets old, but to avoid a massive ticket, we took the SL65 to the track to properly pile-drive the speedo needle. In the corners, the SL65 displayed safe handling that erred on the side of understeer, and body roll was kept in check by the Active Body Control that levels the suspension to keep the car flat. There is plenty of grip as displayed by the 0.93 g achieved on the skidpad, but this is one heavy roadster that is more comfortable reeling in cars on the straight than in the corners. And reel them in it did. Porsche 911s and Corvettes were passed so quickly we barely had time to ask, "Who's your daddy?" After a few laps a crowd began to gather on the pit wall to watch the SL65 demonstrate its straight-line supremacy. All those spectators would likely agree that the SL65 wasn't overpowered but, rather, just right.