The German company, Mercedes-Benz, has dropped from its 2012 lineup its V-12 S-Class models, the SL600 and SL65 AMG sledgehammer. The mai reason for this is that the brand prepares for the introduction of the redesigned 2013 Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the latter half of next year. This isn’t happened suddenly , because in 2011, it pulled the SL600 out of its lineup without saying a word and now we can see that the SL65 AMG will get the axe for 2012.
Of course these are just speculations for now, but we can think of a couple other reasons why the SL600 and SL65 were discontinued. One of this reasons can be the SL65 AMG, which could have interfered with the flagship 2012 SLS Roadster. SL65 AMG sports a 604 horsepower and 740 pound-feet of torque twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V-12.
Mercedes-Benz SL600 is powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V-12 developing 510 horsepower and 610 pound-feet of torque. The reason for this may be that Mercedes is pushing all their V-12s out the window for its new greener twin-turbo V-8 and the 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 equipped with the AMG Performance Package in the S63 produces 563 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque, more than the S600.
Still one thing which remains very unclear is whether Mercedes-Benz will be phasing out its V-12 models completely in favor of more fuel efficient V-8 units.
Source: Dupontregistry
