2009 Mercedes SL 65 AMG Black Series

When Mercedes-Benz unveiled the SL 65 AMG Black Series in 2008, it represented the apex of the brand’s engineering excess—a brutal, limited-production flagship built not to compete with contemporaries, but to obliterate them. Conceived by AMG’s then-nascent Performance Studio, the Black Series was neither a Grand Tourer nor a track car, but a terrifyingly effective blend of both—wider, lighter, more powerful, and entirely unapologetic.

The heart of the SL 65 Black is its hand-built 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12, internally dubbed M275. Producing 661 horsepower and an astonishing 738 lb-ft of torque, it was, at the time of release, the most powerful road car Mercedes had ever built. Power is delivered to the rear wheels via a strengthened five-speed automatic transmission—chosen deliberately for its torque capacity—while a mechanical limited-slip differential, adjustable AMG coilover suspension, and widened front and rear tracks endow the car with surprising precision. The rear wing is fixed. The roof is carbon fiber. There are no rear seats. Everything is intent.

This 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series is one of just 175 U.S.-spec examples produced and is offered with only 4,700 miles from new. Finished in Iridium Silver Metallic over black leather and Alcantara, it presents in exceptional condition throughout. The car’s radically reworked bodywork—fully reimagined in carbon composite—saves 550 pounds over the standard SL 65 and signals its purpose with flared arches, gaping intakes, and that unmistakable widebody silhouette. Inside, the motorsport-inspired cabin is outfitted with fixed-back carbon bucket seats, AMG instrumentation, and lashings of carbon fiber trim, all of which underscore the car’s departure from its more boulevard-oriented sibling.

Despite its capability, the SL 65 Black Series was never homologated for motorsport—it didn’t need to be. Instead, it remains a statement piece, a singular machine that exists outside the typical classifications of sports or supercars. It was faster around Hockenheim than a Ferrari 430 Scuderia. It reached 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. It was limited to 199 mph, though only because Mercedes ran out of courage.

Now over 15 years on, the SL 65 AMG Black Series stands as a monument to an era of outrageous displacement, absurd output, and unlimited engineering ambition. This U.S.-market, low-mileage example presents a rare opportunity to acquire the most extreme, most dramatic, and most collectible variant of the R230 chassis—a car that not only defines the Black Series ethos, but also defies the constraints of time and category.