Personally, I'm waiting for an S69 with bi-turbo V12 AND the NA V8. One up front, one in back. If you do it just right, they both reach peak torque at the same time and you enjoy the rush.
@Jagvar: That's because the Mercedes repair garage doesn't accept payments on the installment plan. As soon as these cars exit warranty, their value is largely destroyed.
That's exactly what the target market needs - more power! So Mila can get to the handicapped spot sooner, so Tony can ding more Porsches in less time, so incredibly rich people who don't think twice about dropping six figures on a CAR can continue to mosey along in the same slow traffic as the rest of us, held back by the same speed limits and laws as the rest of us, and NEVER EVER actually open the barn door for all those ponies.
Tell me, what exactly is the point of all that power in the States? Why not just dip the thing in Ecstasy and call that the added value?
@Elhigh: Well, I can get on a back road here in Canada and just floor the throttle and set off like a rocket. In traffic? I'm courteous and I just go along with everyone else. I use blinkers, I don't speed I just drive.
The speed limit in the US is 65mph by law, but the common speed is 75mph, with 80-90mph not being uncommon, either. And let's face it, if you're on the road going 65mph and trying to pass another guy going 65mph, well, you probably weren't sharp enough to pass the written exam and paid some guy named Pablo in downtown to make you a fake driver's license. And then there is the 100ft or less merge-lanes that can be scary as hell, and sometimes downright unsafe, if your ass can't accelerate quickly enough to merge into freeway traffic.
So, yes, in summary, there is a purpose for all of that power.
DUDE.. I completely AGREE! If ya go check out my comments about the ML AMG.. its fuckin sick.
Who in their right mind.. needs a vehicle of this size.. And with that kind of power.
And.. If MILA KUNIS is involved.. (If I remember correctly she managed to pick up a SC from about 2-3yrs ago to drive around.) Gutless - pointless - ugly as shit.
@Elhigh: Okay guys, here's where we're tripping up:
525hp to move a two-ton car to a limited top speed of 155mph is just dumb. Sure we've all seen the triple digits - big whoop. My truck will do 95 even if it sounds really really unhappy at that speed. Big whoop.
There just isn't that much point to this car. Its raison d'etre is conspicuous consumption, a flaunting of wealth. Again I say, big whoop.
I can go freaking fast in traffic in this awful sham of a car, a vehicle so expensive that it costs more than a nice little house in the suburbs, or I can buy a good used Camaro and go freaking fast in that, and buy the house.
Just saying. I can't get behind it. It's not a car, it's an accessory.
@Elhigh: 525hp to move a two-ton car to a limited top speed of 155mph is just dumb... My truck will do 95 even if it sounds really really unhappy at that speed... Big whoop... I can buy a good used Camaro and go freaking fast in that...
OK, it's not about the top speed, but how it gets there. A 911 GT2 is slower to 60 than a Turbo. After that, it absolutely destroys it. I mean, after a certain point, the Camaro won't stand a chance. You would understand after flooring that throttle even once. And, it's also utter lunacy that a car that weighs this much is this fast. And isn't that what Jalopnik is about? And, if you have the money, why not spend it? I mean you could have a house, but purchases like this aren't rational. It's all for the fun of owning a modern German muscle car.
@Ambiguously Unfunny Serial Killer: If rationality is what we're trying to avoid, then buying a brand-new factory certified hot rod is absolutely the wrong way to go. My particular flavor of Jalopnosity is digging in with both hands and creating my own fire breathing luxury express. And therein lies my contempt: the people who buy this car have no appreciation for the car itself. They have no investment of their soul or aspiration into the car, only into what it can do for them.
The people who buy this car will have done nothing for the car.
So, if I had the money to spend, would I buy this car? No freakin way. A Lamborghini Espada? Absolutely. You've got to be effing insane to saddle one of those babies up. Insane, and blessed with a big garage full of tools, and a fresh copy of Rosetta Stone: Italian. Or a BMW 7-series - attention hogs. Or I'd build my own. Start with a Crown Vic, and work the wrenching magic - how fantastic a ride would that be, a hairy chested Crown Vic that can cheerfully cruise at 120 all day, with stacks of muscle left over, and a ride suitable for the Dragon, the turnpike, or the track?
The AMGs are a mighty swing - and a miss. Where I come from, they are not Jalopnik at all.
"as soon as its door is opened, the S 65 AMG welcomes the driver with large, animated "AMG V12 BITURBO" lettering in the instrument cluster's central display."
hopefully I would know this before I was allowed to open the drivers door ?
First, thanks for using the term 'moment of inertia' and not 'center of gravity', I don't know why but whenever I hear CoG it bothers me a little. Second, dude, we need to hang out, just so I can meet someone who has eight lower extremities. I've never even heard of one much less seen one.
Peter O, I must thank you very much for this series.
My wife has decided that rather than a more plebian A4 Avant, she would prefer the Espada for a "mom car".
When we talk about various future vehicles, she point out that whatever I'm talking about is fine, provided it's in complement to "her Lambo".
If sometime in 2012 you feel a chill running down your spine around 11:30pm Pacific Daylight Time, it's me, cursing you while weeping over a multicarburated Italian V12.
06/22/09
06/22/09
Of course, I can't even afford a used C-Class, but still...
06/22/09
06/22/09
Somewhere around 700 horsepwer sounds right.
06/22/09
Tell me, what exactly is the point of all that power in the States? Why not just dip the thing in Ecstasy and call that the added value?
06/22/09
06/22/09
The speed limit in the US is 65mph by law, but the common speed is 75mph, with 80-90mph not being uncommon, either. And let's face it, if you're on the road going 65mph and trying to pass another guy going 65mph, well, you probably weren't sharp enough to pass the written exam and paid some guy named Pablo in downtown to make you a fake driver's license. And then there is the 100ft or less merge-lanes that can be scary as hell, and sometimes downright unsafe, if your ass can't accelerate quickly enough to merge into freeway traffic.
So, yes, in summary, there is a purpose for all of that power.
Also, if Mila Kunis is involved, I'll sign up.
06/22/09
DUDE..
I completely AGREE!
If ya go check out my comments about the ML AMG.. its fuckin sick.
Who in their right mind.. needs a vehicle of this size..
And with that kind of power.
And..
If MILA KUNIS is involved.. (If I remember correctly she managed to pick up a SC from about 2-3yrs ago to drive around.) Gutless - pointless - ugly as shit.
06/22/09
@CaptMatt15 is high on 9000 rpm: Yeah, that's true, now that I think of it. There are some in the northern midwest, too.
06/22/09
525hp to move a two-ton car to a limited top speed of 155mph is just dumb. Sure we've all seen the triple digits - big whoop. My truck will do 95 even if it sounds really really unhappy at that speed. Big whoop.
There just isn't that much point to this car. Its raison d'etre is conspicuous consumption, a flaunting of wealth. Again I say, big whoop.
I can go freaking fast in traffic in this awful sham of a car, a vehicle so expensive that it costs more than a nice little house in the suburbs, or I can buy a good used Camaro and go freaking fast in that, and buy the house.
Just saying. I can't get behind it. It's not a car, it's an accessory.
06/22/09
OK, it's not about the top speed, but how it gets there. A 911 GT2 is slower to 60 than a Turbo. After that, it absolutely destroys it. I mean, after a certain point, the Camaro won't stand a chance. You would understand after flooring that throttle even once. And, it's also utter lunacy that a car that weighs this much is this fast. And isn't that what Jalopnik is about? And, if you have the money, why not spend it? I mean you could have a house, but purchases like this aren't rational. It's all for the fun of owning a modern German muscle car.
06/22/09
The people who buy this car will have done nothing for the car.
So, if I had the money to spend, would I buy this car? No freakin way. A Lamborghini Espada? Absolutely. You've got to be effing insane to saddle one of those babies up. Insane, and blessed with a big garage full of tools, and a fresh copy of Rosetta Stone: Italian. Or a BMW 7-series - attention hogs. Or I'd build my own. Start with a Crown Vic, and work the wrenching magic - how fantastic a ride would that be, a hairy chested Crown Vic that can cheerfully cruise at 120 all day, with stacks of muscle left over, and a ride suitable for the Dragon, the turnpike, or the track?
The AMGs are a mighty swing - and a miss. Where I come from, they are not Jalopnik at all.
06/22/09
And what's missing from the trousers.
06/22/09
06/22/09
06/22/09
06/22/09
hopefully I would know this before I was allowed to open the drivers door ?
06/22/09
06/22/09
06/22/09
06/22/09
Hey, my AMG is way faster!
06/22/09
06/22/09
06/22/09
05/16/09
05/16/09
05/15/09
And then make her correct you.
"No, Orelia."
"Oh, really?"
ad nauseam.
Then you would get to know the family; wait for one of the girls to grow up, and then marry into this filthy rich, spoiled clan.
You are NOT thinking!
05/18/09
05/15/09
05/15/09
05/15/09
05/15/09
05/15/09
05/18/09
05/15/09
Who the hell buys a beige Ferrari??!?
05/15/09
05/15/09
Second, dude, we need to hang out, just so I can meet someone who has eight lower extremities. I've never even heard of one much less seen one.
05/15/09
05/15/09
My wife has decided that rather than a more plebian A4 Avant, she would prefer the Espada for a "mom car".
When we talk about various future vehicles, she point out that whatever I'm talking about is fine, provided it's in complement to "her Lambo".
If sometime in 2012 you feel a chill running down your spine around 11:30pm Pacific Daylight Time, it's me, cursing you while weeping over a multicarburated Italian V12.
05/16/09
That, or your mom is the Alpha Wrench.