In the Nineties and Two Thousands, Mercedes-Benz was on a range-plugging frenzy. It wasn’t unusual to be faced with nearly twenty model line-ups, when you factor in the differing body styles such as coupes, convertibles, sedans, hatchbacks, wagons, and sports cars, and that’s before you go into engine and transmission spec choices! This 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG is from that era of choice, and it’s the last of the CL-Class before it would become known as the S-Class Coupe thereafter. A Grand Tourer and Personal Luxury Car, the CL-Class ran over three generations between 1992 and 2014, and was in essence a two-door S-Class. This car bears just 95,000 miles, and is of the most potent AMG variant you could buy at the time.

Exterior and Interior

This 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG is from the facelift of the third generation, that saw things improve, bringing bi-xenon headlamps, a new grille, revised fenders, revised hood, and redesigned exhaust pipes to the table. Presenting itself in a straight black paintwork with the AMG styling package, it looks menacing in some ways, and yet approachable. The AMG badges, as well as the V12 Biturbo ones on the side flanks tell onlookers that it packs serious firepower, which we will get to in the engine section. Step aboard into the luxuriously appointed cabin that sports exclusive leather trim, and it’s more black. The dynamic front seats offer electric adjustment with memory, heating, and ventilation, and you’ve got the Driving Package, Active Blind Spot Assistance, and rear view camera as some of the tech toys, alongside the requisite dual-zone climate control, infotainment system and Harman/Kardon sound system. AMG-branded door sills and floor mats are present too, as is a V12 badge in the center console to remind everyone of the powerplant beneath the long hood, in case the 220mph speedometer isn’t enough of a hint.

Engine

We’ve already said that this 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG wears a V12 beneath its black suit, and what a V12 it is. The last of Mercedes-Benz’ swansong engines, the M275 AMG 6.0L V12 is backed by twin turbochargers, helping it to put out 621hp and 738lb-ft, figures that are utterly impressive in 2022, and must have been mind-boggling in 2011! The gearbox may seem a little dated, being a 5-speed automatic unit but there’s good reason for that, namely that Mercedes-Benz’ 7-speed box at the time was simply unable to cope with such power and torque! Zero to sixty is a 4.1 second affair, and top speed limited to 155mph, but one can easily imagine it cracking the magical 200mph barrier unfettered.