When it was launched in 2004, the Mercedes-Benz S 65 AMG W220 was the most powerful production S-Class in history, with a large amount of automotive journalists calling it a “limousine dragster.”
Powered by an AMG-massaged twin-turbocharged V12 with a total displacement of six liters, the uber-luxobarge developed no less than 612 hp and a monstrous 1,000 (738 lb ft) of torque which was electronically-limited for reasons of transmission obliteration.
The official numbers said that the original S 65 AMG could accelerate from naught to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 4.4 seconds, which was not too shabby for a 2220 kg (4895 pounds) car.
Those numbers could have been much lower if only the gargantuan torque could reach the pavement without transforming the rear tires into black ash, but even more impressive was how the luxury behemoth could accelerate from a roll, on the highway.
A Porsche 911 Turbo 997.1 fitted with the Tiptronic transmission should pretty dance around the S 65 AMG W220 if both cars accelerate from a stand still, thanks to its much lower weight, the way it's distributed and the all-wheel drive.
From a roll, however, there seems to be an entirely different story, as the following video will amusingly prove. The ginormous amount of torque of a stock S 65 AMG is apparently more than enough to shame a pre-facelift Porsche 911 Turbo 997 which is also stock.
As they used to say: “Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races.” That statement has never been more true than in the footage bellow.
Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project. Full profile
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