- Ultra-low-mile V12 AMG coupe just sold for Ferrari-level money.
- Once-overlooked luxury bruiser gaining respect as modern classic.
- Twin-turbo V12 made 604 hp and 738 lb-ft, huge numbers in 2005.
Three hundred thousand bucks for a 20 year old Mercedes on Bring a Trailer? That sounds like two guys both spilled mugs of coffee on their keyboard at the same time, but then this was no ordinary Benz.
It was a 2005 Mercedes CL65 AMG, the twin turbo V12 sledgehammer that quietly embarrassed supercars while looking like a banker’s weekend cruiser.
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Even still, the $303,303 sales price is 6-10 times more than other 65s have realized on the same platform over the past year, and the Alabaster White over Java leather wouldn’t be my first choice, though it probably adds to the rarity.
But the big draw must have been the low mileage count of just 3,300 miles (5,300 km), plus the near-new condition.
Under the hood sits AMG’s legendary 6.0 liter twin turbo V12, factory rated at 604 hp (612 PS) and 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm). In the mid 2000s those numbers were outrageous, Ferrari Enzo territory without the drama, wings, or $400k+ expense.
Not that the CL65 was ever cheap. This car’s window sticker shows it cost $182,280 when new, which strangely equates almost exactly to this week’s $303,303 sales price when adjusted for inflation.
A BMW M5 Eater
I still remember how shocking these cars felt when they were new. The traction was a joke at low speeds, but once hooked up the CL65 pulled like it was falling from the top of a skyscraper.
I once used one to make an E39 BMW M5 look like it had hit an aerodynamic brick wall on a British motorway. The look on the BMW driver’s face when I breezed past was priceless.
Is this incredible sale an aberration (“this made no sense” wrote one commenter under the listing), or a solid sign that Mercedes CL65 AMGs are getting the respect they deserve as landmark performance cars?
Right now if you’re prepared to accept a car with a more regular mileage figure of around 60,000 (97,000 km), you can still pick up one of these monster coupes for less than $40k. But maybe not for long.
