Mercedes-Benz’s performance division AMG will be putting two models in a fashion show. That is, two cars of theirs will be on display at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York Fall 2009 event.
The two AMG vehicles sitting under the Bryant Park tents at the event will be the SL 63 AMG Edition IWC and the SL 65 AMG Black Series. The SL 63 AMG Edition IWC comes in Magno Cashmere white with a matte finish and is powered by a V8 engine upon which AMG does its little tuning magic act to take it to 518 hp. 0 to 60 mph (100 km/h) acceleration comes in at 4.5 seconds. The engines are hand built by a single engineer at AMG and for a purchase price of $169,950 US dollars (about 220,000 euros) it comes with a “Grosser Ingenieur” (Great Engineer) watch from IWC Schaffhausen, a Swiss luxury watchmaker. Only 200 IWC editions will be built, 63 of them slated for the US market.
The SL 65 AMG Black Series is a $300,000 US dollar (390,000 euros) car powered by a 6.0 liter, twin-turbo V12 engine developing 493 kW / 670 hp at 5,400 rpm. The torque is electronically limited to 1,000 Nm and it is ultra-light, some 500 pounds (230 kg) less than the SL 63, with a curb weight of 1870 kg and an impressive 2.79 kg/hp weight to power ratio. Only 175 will be made for the US market.
Associating your luxury vehicles with the glamor and sexiness of the world of high fashion and luxury goods is a smart marketing idea for sure. But you can just imagine those cars idly sitting there with a fashion crowd that doesn’t really appreciate what these performance cars can really do on the road.
