It's a massively powerful AMG engine that's fit for a hypercar, but it's put in a body that'll be ignored by just about everyone.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could get the V12 from a Pagani Zonda, but in a body that would be a bit more practical and a bit less showy? Well, it turns out that you can. And there’s one going up for auction next month.
It’s easy to forget that the V12 that powered the original Zondas was actually an AMG-built engine. And that the locomotive-sized V12 shared an architecture with the 6.0L V12 that was used in some much more pedestrian models. Cars like the S600 and the SL600. It started out as a 6.0L engine in the Mercs, and even in the Pagani, but then displacement grew. Massively.
AMG knew that they needed to do more with that big V12 than just sell it to someone else to put in another brand’s cars. So they shoehorned it into some products of their own.
Enter the SL 73 AMG. Take a standard SL 600 and add that big engine. 518 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. Enough to send the Zonda to the moon, and enough to make this a rocket. 0-100 km/h in under five seconds thanks to the extra 129 hp and 138 lb-ft of torque.
There were some other AMG-tweaks too. Things like some beefier brakes to help make sure it can still stop and changes to the damping. Visually, this is extra discreet with the only changes being tiny body kit differences, AMG wheels, and that 73 badge.
Despite how cool that engine was, this was a rare car. It was introduced late in the lifecycle of that generation SL, and no matter how powerful it was the car was equally expensive. Exact production is difficult to find, but it’s said that only 85 of them were built over the car’s run from 1998 to 2001. It’s also rumoured that more than half of those cars went to the Sultan of Brunei, whose collection was equal parts mythical and legendary to 1990s car enthusiasts.
This one is for sale at RM Sotheby’s London auction in October. It was originally sold in Japan, and so has an odometer in kilometres that hasn’t yet turned over to 35,000. It’s a black car with a black roof and a black interior, and it’s been fitted with options like the orthopaedic seats and leather that’s extended onto the dash and doors.
It’s a massively powerful AMG engine that’s fit for a hypercar, but it’s put in a body that’ll be ignored by just about everyone. While offering you secret performance and luxury. This is what AMG used to be all about.
Source: RM Sotheby’s Inc.
Keyword: Mercedes SL With a Pagani V12 For Sale