BMW Motorrad has had a 650cc off-road-ready adventure bike in its line since 2000, but the new one for model year '09 is vastly different than its predecessor. The bike is completely new and highlighted by a new parallel-twin engine that now displaces almost 800cc -- the same as the more powerful but more expensive F 800 GS. The two models differ in their specific engine tuning with the 650 producing 71-horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 55 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm and the F 800 GS offering up 85 bhp at 7,500 rpm and 62 lb-ft at 5,750 rpm. Unlike most BMW motorcycles that use a shaft drive, the F-Series GS uses a more rational chain for its off-road durability and interchangeability. A steel trellis frame mates with a double-sided swingarm to offer a stiff chassis and the fuel is mounted below the seat for a low center of gravity. Pricing begins at $8,255, though adding the Standard Package quickly raises the asking price to $9,760. You'll want that package as it includes heated hand grips, anti-lock brakes, an on-board computer, and (who cares?) white turn signals.
We haven't seen any photos of the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series except for the press photos and a few wallpapers we scrounged up. As far was we know, no one has actually seen the car in person outside of Mercedes-Benz, let alone photographed it. So imagine our surprise when we spotted one headed our direction while trying to crash the Ferrari-owners-invited-only North American debut of the Ferrari California in Monterey. We instantly forgot about trying to catch a glimpse of the Ferrari and turned our lenses towards the Black Series. Fortunately, Mercedes-Benz had no problem with us taking photographs of the car, and we were able to get plenty of detailed pictures. Enjoy the high resolution gallery below and we'll be back later with more from Monterey!
Eyebrows were raised when a photograph from the Rockies began circulating the interwebs. The rare shot shows a pair of delectable supercar test mules – the next-generation Pagani Zonda and the new Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series – undergoing testing side-by-side on public roads. Aside the from the rare occurrence of a non-homologated Zonda on American tarmac, speculation began to ramp up as to what the two were doing together. Conclusion: they must be sharing the same engine.
While that may be the case, it could be a simple instance of AMG doubling-up on their test time, since Pagani renewed its engine deal with the Mercedes tuning house. Previous reports suggested that the supercharged V8 from the outgoing SLR McLaren could be flipped around for duty in the next-gen Zonda, however the SL65 Black uses a much larger 600hp twin-turbo V12. Of course it's impossible to tell at this point, but we'll be keeping our eyes peeled in the meantime.
The high-end, super-luxury limousine market is a fairly limited one. There's Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Maybach and.... well, that's about it. But with Daimler possibly nixxing the struggling brand in the next few years, who will fill that gap for those who prefer to lounge in the back seat of a Mercedes rather than drive? Carlsson possibly has the answer with its... take a deep breath... Aigner CK65 RS Blanchimont based on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. This is the second vehicle that has been built in cooperation with Etienne Leather, the first being the Aigner CK65 Eau Rouge we spotted at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year. For the Blanchimont, Carlsson has installed enough items to use the car as a home office – custom leather upholstery, a Concert Hall infotainment system with surround sound, DVD system with three television monitors, hinged tables behind the front seats for laptops, and a wireless router that creates a personal hot spot inside the car. Oh yeah, the Blanchimont also features a 700-horsepower V12 and can reach 60 mph in under four seconds(!).
BMW has its own grammar rules. For instance, M and X cannot appear in the same car name. So while a BMW sport-ute/crossover (or whatever they want to call it) can for all intents and purposes be an M vehicle – that is, top-of-the-line sport model with all the go-fast components and power to spare – it can never wear the vaunted M badge. That is, for the most part, just semantics. BMW's solution for the 'Ring-running versions of its taller vehicles is to slap an S on there instead.
With those rules laid down, we bring you these spy shots of a BMW X6 M 5.0iS. While the name might have you thinking that BMW has shoehorned in the M division's highly praised 5-liter V10 to the X6, sources suggest otherwise: the same twin-turbo version of Munich's 4.4-liter V8 producing in excess of 500 hp is expected to feature in the next M5. Information indicates a release in about a year from now, complete with all the extra dressings you've come to expect from a performance-oriented Bimmer. You didn't think Bavaria would pass up the opportunity to create a high-performance version of the strangest segment-buster yet, did you? Certainly not when the opportunity to further confuse us with its nomenclature is just so tempting.
Mercedes-Benz recently launched a dedicated website for the SL65 AMG Black Series, and it's loaded with goodies for anyone who can't get enough of the uber coupe. The site has detailed info on all of the Black Series' features, as well as some new studio photos that we haven't seen before.
The SL65 AMG Black, in this Autoblogger's opinion, is everything the SLR should have been -- intimidating, mean, nasty, and fast. Granted, the butterfly-doored SLR had the last base covered, but compared to this latest Black Series ride, it looks cute and cuddly. Mercedes has now released a trio of official videos of the SL65 AMG Black, one of which features the new supercar doing its business on-track, making splendid noises all the while. Looks like Team Autoblog will be picking up a couple of extra Powerball tix this afternoon, since we have a new toy sitting atop the fantasy shopping list, but currently lack the greenbacks to even get ourselves on the waiting list. It's times like this when we wish we'd gotten into hedge funds...
After months of spy shots and speculation, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series is finally out in the open. And with a $320,000 price tag, a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 and only 200 units on their way to the U.S., it's a serious stopgap between the deceased SLR and Mercedes' 2011 SLC gullwing supercar.
Mercedes' in-house tuners applied their tried and true philosophy to the SL65 AMG Black Series, beginning with a carbon fiber hood, fenders and trunk, along with nixing the retractable hard top in favor of a fixed carbon fiber roof with an integrated roll cage. As such, the Black is 550 pounds lighter than the stock SL65, coming in at 4,122 pounds.
Seven vents – three in the bumper, two on the hood and two in the fenders – feed copious quantities of air to the 6.0-liter V12, fitted with a duo of upgraded turbochargers. Power is up to 661 hp available at 5,400 rpm, while torque remains the same at 738 lb.-ft. With a five-speed automatic gearbox equipped with AMG's speedshift software, the Black can hit 60 mph in 3.9 seconds on its way to a gearing-limited top speed of 199 mph.
Expect the SL65 AMG Black Series to debut in Paris, with sales beginning in the U.S. early next year.
It's hard not to follow a story like the veritable fleet of new supercars set to follow the controversial Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The supercar came out of the partnership between Benz and McLaren in Formula One, but while the racing cars have been highly competitive, the SLR has been less so. As a result, Mercedes and McLaren are going their own separate ways for the next generation of high-performance exotica.
Mercedes, with in-house rodders AMG and its racing spin-off, HWA, is preparing two new models to succeed the SLR: the SL65 AMG Black Series (which has been spied many times over) and the SLC (which we've seen disguised in Dodge Viper bodywork). McLaren, meanwhile, is anticipated to produce the new P11 mid-engined supercar on its own, without Mercedes input. The dissolution of the car-producing enterprise between the two powerhouses is not expected to affect their joint grand prix racing program.
The last iteration of the SLR – following the original coupe, the Roadster and the 722 – will be a limited-production lightweight speedster, on which we recently reported. Despite all its available variants, Mercedes has sold fewer than 1600 examples of the SLR to date.
It's hard not to think about the prodigious power slated to appear in the Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG Black Edition. A twin-turbo 6.0-liter V12 with 670 hp and and an absurd 738 lb-ft of torque can do that. Factor in a 570-lb weight loss courtesy of exotic materials, and you've got a Benz that can flat destroy almost anything else on the road.
World Car Fans has obtained video of the still-disguised SL65 Black Edition in action cruising the Nürburgring, and the few seconds of action caught on tape shows that the battle for 'Ring supremacy is far from over. The SL65 is shown taking corners at speed and sounding like a jet aircraft. The GT-R may be grabbing the 'Ring headlines now, but it looks like the Germans are preparing to defend their home turf, and in a big way. Look out, Godzilla. Hit the read link below to view the video.
