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Top Gear readers have crowned their favourite Mercedes-AMG Black Series car

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Top Gear readers have crowned their favourite Mercedes-AMG Black Series car | Top Gear

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Will the hardcore AMG-GT be as popular as it is fast, or will one of the old guards steal your blackened hearts? The answer awaits

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Top Gear readers have crowned their favourite Mercedes-AMG Black Series car

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Will the hardcore AMG-GT be as popular as it is fast, or will one of the old guards steal your blackened hearts? The answer awaits

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Will the hardcore AMG-GT be as popular as it is fast, or will one of the old guards steal your blackened hearts? The answer awaits

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Top Gear readers have crowned their favourite Mercedes-AMG Black Series car

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Top Gear readers have crowned their favourite Mercedes-AMG Black Series car

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Top Gear readers have crowned their favourite Mercedes-AMG Black Series car

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Will the hardcore AMG-GT be as popular as it is fast, or will one of the old guards steal your blackened hearts? The answer awaits

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This Monday, we asked you, the readers, which Mercedes-AMG Black Series model was your favourite. With just six cars spanning the lineage since the diminutive SLK55 Black back in 2006, there’s not an awful lot to choose from.

However, it does mean there’s a case for each and that, ultimately, should lead to plenty of interesting dialogue in the comment section. It did, and one passage in particular caught our attention, beginning with Gandubilli Siddarth’s defence of the V12-powered SL65 Black.

“Everyone is going to say it's either the CLK DTM or the C63 Black, but really it's the SL65 Black. Oh, the stories I heard of this thing while growing up, from 'It can vaporize its rear tyres in seven seconds', to 'the torque output had to be detuned to keep the transmission from blowing up'.

“In a way, it’s perfectly natural that the Black Series has evolved, sometimes that’s just the way of life. But just like Linkin Park’s ‘Living Things’ is a fantastic album in its own right, truly some of their best work, if you had to pick one, you’d choose Meteora.”

Fair point, and a great analogy (‘Faint’ is one of our personal favourites). But an equally strong counter-argument was provided by Paul Esthète.

“It’s heavy and unless you put it in the back it’ll really mess up the weight distribution. It also sounds pretty bad, which is laughable for 12 cylinders. You said it yourself, it eats its tyres in seven seconds, and the torque had to be detuned. Even then the only suitable transmission is the antique five-speed automatic.

“The V8 cars on the other hand? Great exhaust notes, a decent seven-speed box, and much better handling too. The CLK Black is six seconds faster than the SL around the Nürburgring, with half less torque and 30 per cent less power. The SL65 might be impressive on paper, but in reality, it’s just a lot of numbers that don’t necessarily add up that well.”

A perfectly logical argument. But the majority of you lot still seem to favour the SL. The CLK didn’t even make second place, which was gifted to the SLS Black. Then came the CLK and its wild C63-shaped sibling, with next-to-no favour for the Black Series’ first and most recent products in the SLK55 and the AMG-GT.

Can we really be surprised, though? The Black Series lineage isn’t supposed to make sense. They’re supposed to be about shredding tyres and absurd straight-line speed. It’s literally what they’re for. Perhaps that’s why the AMG GT found little favour here. Undeniably an engineering masterpiece, but a full-fat cake too refined to truly merit applause for this type of audience.

So, there we have it folks. We asked, and you answered: the Mercedes-AMG SL65 Black is your favourite Black Series model to date. And with the constant regulatory changes and downsizing, the chances are it will stay the overwhelming choice for… well, ever.

Our next Question of the Week drops on Monday morning and involves a slightly similar theme albeit a little more Blue Oval-shaped. Stay tuned, readers.

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This Monday, we asked you, the readers, which Mercedes-AMG Black Series model was your favourite. With just six cars spanning the lineage since the diminutive SLK55 Black back in 2006, there’s not an awful lot to choose from.

However, it does mean there’s a case for each and that, ultimately, should lead to plenty of interesting dialogue in the comment section. It did, and one passage in particular caught our attention, beginning with Gandubilli Siddarth’s defence of the V12-powered SL65 Black.

“Everyone is going to say it's either the CLK DTM or the C63 Black, but really it's the SL65 Black. Oh, the stories I heard of this thing while growing up, from 'It can vaporize its rear tyres in seven seconds', to 'the torque output had to be detuned to keep the transmission from blowing up'.

“In a way, it’s perfectly natural that the Black Series has evolved, sometimes that’s just the way of life. But just like Linkin Park’s ‘Living Things’ is a fantastic album in its own right, truly some of their best work, if you had to pick one, you’d choose Meteora.”

Fair point, and a great analogy (‘Faint’ is one of our personal favourites). But an equally strong counter-argument was provided by Paul Esthète.

“It’s heavy and unless you put it in the back it’ll really mess up the weight distribution. It also sounds pretty bad, which is laughable for 12 cylinders. You said it yourself, it eats its tyres in seven seconds, and the torque had to be detuned. Even then the only suitable transmission is the antique five-speed automatic.

“The V8 cars on the other hand? Great exhaust notes, a decent seven-speed box, and much better handling too. The CLK Black is six seconds faster than the SL around the Nürburgring, with half less torque and 30 per cent less power. The SL65 might be impressive on paper, but in reality, it’s just a lot of numbers that don’t necessarily add up that well.”

A perfectly logical argument. But the majority of you lot still seem to favour the SL. The CLK didn’t even make second place, which was gifted to the SLS Black. Then came the CLK and its wild C63-shaped sibling, with next-to-no favour for the Black Series’ first and most recent products in the SLK55 and the AMG-GT.

Can we really be surprised, though? The Black Series lineage isn’t supposed to make sense. They’re supposed to be about shredding tyres and absurd straight-line speed. It’s literally what they’re for. Perhaps that’s why the AMG GT found little favour here. Undeniably an engineering masterpiece, but a full-fat cake too refined to truly merit applause for this type of audience.

So, there we have it folks. We asked, and you answered: the Mercedes-AMG SL65 Black is your favourite Black Series model to date. And with the constant regulatory changes and downsizing, the chances are it will stay the overwhelming choice for… well, ever.

Our next Question of the Week drops on Monday morning and involves a slightly similar theme albeit a little more Blue Oval-shaped. Stay tuned, readers.

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Will the hardcore AMG-GT be as popular as it is fast, or will one of the old guards steal your blackened hearts? The answer awaits