Mercedes-Benz has pulled the wraps off its second W222 AMG model - the S 65 AMG, which also happens to be the first V12-engined latest generation S-Class to be unveiled. No S 600 has been announced yet, though we expect this could change with the launch of the extended wheelbase and Pullman models.
The S 65 AMG's 6.0 litre twin turbo V12 produces 630 horsepower from as early as 4,800rpm and sustains it to 5,400rpm. Peak torque is a massive 1,000Nm from 2,300rpm to 4,300rpm - 100Nm higher than the S 63 AMG's twin-turbo V8. And unlike the last generation which used a 5-speed auto, the new S 65 AMG gets the 7-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT PLUG 7G-TRONIC gearbox. 0 to 100km/h takes just 4.3 seconds. The motor has a grand total of 24 spark plugs!
On the exterior, several design cues separate the S 65 AMG from other models of S-Class, including the V8 AMG model. The grille is unique to the V12 model - it has a six twin-louvre design. The grille on the bumper is also chrome by default, though a customer may specify it in black instead.
Wheels are 20 inches by default - 8.5 inches wide at the front and 9.5 inches wide at the rear. The light alloy wheels are wrapped with 255/40R20 and 285/35R20 tyres. They are of a 16 spoke design, but three other designs can be specified - two 10 spoke designs and a 5 twin-spoke design.
There are two 'firsts' in this car that's never been seen before on any production Mercedes-Benz, not even other W222 S-Class. The first is a new touchpad for the COMAND system - an input area about 6.5 x 4.5 cm in size in place of the COMAND dial's palm rest. It can recognise one and two finger gestures, swipe gestures and zoom gestures.
Aft of the touch pad are three touch-sensitive keys that function as a back button, a favourites button and an audio menu button, rather like the layout of a modern Android phone actually. You can continue to use the area as a palm rest as Mercedes-Benz has programmed the system to recognise whether you are just resting your hand or performing some kind of touch input. The next car to debut this will probably be the C-Class as we've seen it featured in officially released teaser photos.
Another 'first' is a colour heads up display, which projects in an area the size of 21 x 7 cm about 2 metres in front of the driver. The display shows information like speed, speed limits, navigation info, traffic signs, DISTRONIC PLUS info, gear indicator, and in manual mode it even shows a shift indicator to signal when you should change gears.
The new S 65 AMG will debut simultaneously at the LA and Tokyo shows, and will go to market in March 2014 for 232,050 Euros (RM985k), including 19% VAT.
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