Mercedes sold the W222 sixth-generation S65 sedan in the US beginning with the 2015 model year, and it was absurd from day one.
Under the hood sat a hand-built, twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 making 621 horsepower and a staggering 738 pound-feet of torque. It sent all of that through a seven-speed automatic transmission exclusively to the rear wheels, with Mercedes quoting a 0-to-60-mph time of around 4.1 seconds.
Back then, with a starting price of around $222,000 for the sedan, it was well out of reach for most. These days, with depreciation making a serious dent in V12 sedan prices, you might be able to get one for much cheaper. Kelley Blue Book values it at less than $40,000 today.
That doesn’t mean it’ll be cheap to own. Far from it. But if you’ve always wanted a hand-built AMG V12 wrapped in one of the best luxury sedans Mercedes has ever made, the math is awfully difficult to ignore.
Why Buy The Mercedes-AMG S65?
Let’s start with the obvious reason: that engine.
The M279 6.0-liter biturbo V12 makes 621 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque, with peak torque arriving at just 2,300 rpm. Mercedes paired it with the AMG Speedshift seven-speed automatic because the newer nine-speed transmission used elsewhere in the S-Class couldn’t handle the V12’s enormous torque.
This isn’t an engine that needs to rev hard or make a bunch of noise to feel special. Put your foot down and nearly three-quarters of a thousand pound-feet simply pushes the S65 forward. There’s very little drama considering the numbers involved.
When we reviewed the updated S65 in 2018, we called it “The Irrational Monster.” A fitting description:
‘At any speed in any gear, the engine pulls with reckless abandon; there’s enough grunt to pass anyone, at any time, in just seconds.’
‘This is first and foremost a luxury vehicle, but the AMG team does a great job spicing up the S65’s interior for performance duty.’
‘As the S65 is available only with rear-wheel drive, it’ll light up the 20-inch rubber on command.’
The S65 also gives you everything you’d expect from a flagship S-Class. There’s Mercedes’ excellent Magic Body Control suspension, a beautiful leather-lined cabin, massaging seats, twin dashboard displays on later models, Burmester audio, and enough powered accessories to keep an electrical engineer awake at night.
How Much Is A Used Mercedes-AMG S65?
Depreciation has done the S65 dirty. This is a car that featured a starting price well over $200,000 at a time when that figure still felt astonishing for any car. Now you can scoop one up for less than the price of a nicely equipped Kia Telluride.
According to Kelley Blue Book, the current fair purchase prices for used models with around 50,000 miles are:
2015 S65: $38,200
2016 S65: $46,000
2017 S65: $61,200
2018 S65: $63,000
2019 S65: $78,500
2020 S65: $102,000
That 2015 number is downright astonishing. Someone paid roughly $225,000 for the car when new. Today, KBB says you can theoretically snag one for $38,000. That’s approximately $186,000 in depreciation, or about 83 percent of the car’s original sticker price.
It’s worth emphasizing that the cheapest S65 you can find isn’t necessarily the S65 you want to buy. The difference between a properly maintained $45,000 example and a neglected $35,000 example could disappear with one repair bill.
Which Mercedes-AMG S65 Should You Buy?
If I were shopping for one, I’d start with the 2018 Mercedes-AMG S65.
Mercedes substantially updated the W222 S-Class for 2018 with new exterior styling, redesigned bumpers and lighting, an updated steering wheel, a newer generation of COMAND infotainment, and the twin 12.3-inch displays housed beneath a single piece of glass.
The S65 kept the same V12, seven-speed automatic, and rear-wheel-drive layout.
And according to KBB, the price premium over a 2017 is tiny. A 2017 currently carries a Fair Purchase Price of roughly $61,200. The facelifted 2018? About $63,000. That’s less than $2,000 more for the newer-looking, updated car. That makes the 2018 the sweet spot.
A 2015 or 2016 is the choice if you want the lowest possible entry price. The underlying powertrain is still fundamentally the same, and paying somewhere in the $40,000 range for a 621-hp V12 S-Class is objectively hilarious.
Then there’s the 2020. Mercedes closed the book on the S65 with the Final Edition, limited to just 130 cars worldwide. It received Obsidian Black paint, matte-bronze exterior accents, special forged wheels, black Nappa leather with copper-colored stitching, and unique interior trim.
That car belongs in a different conversation entirely.
What Could Go Wrong?
Here’s the part where that $38,000 purchase price stops looking quite so comforting. You aren’t maintaining a $38,000 Mercedes—you’re maintaining a $225,000 Mercedes that’s only cost you $38,000 (so far).
The V12 itself doesn’t have one infamous catastrophic flaw that automatically makes every S65 a ticking time bomb. In fact, there are owners with very high-mileage W222 S65s who report remarkably solid engine durability. But everything on this car is expensive.
For starters, the M279 uses 24 spark plugs. That’s not a typo. Twelve cylinders, two plugs per cylinder. Even buying the parts quickly reminds you that this isn’t a C-Class.
Then there’s Magic Body Control. Rather than conventional springs and dampers, the system uses hydraulics and cameras to actively control the body’s movements and even prepare the suspension for road imperfections ahead. It’s one of the features that makes the W222 S65 feel so special. It’s also something you absolutely want inspected before purchase.
Mercedes specialists cite leaking Magic Body Control struts as one of the more significant W222 issues as these cars age. Owners have also reported failures of the hydraulic pulsation damper and wear in front control arms at higher mileage.
Don’t automatically panic if the seven-speed transmission feels less polished than you expect, either. We noticed abrupt and clunky low-speed behavior when the S65 was new. But that’s also no excuse to ignore harsh shifts, fluid leaks, delayed engagement, or a missing transmission-service history.
And then there are all the ordinary expensive S-Class things: power accessories, panoramic roof components, cameras, sensors, infotainment screens, soft-close doors, seat motors, HVAC equipment, huge brakes, and 20-inch tires. Individually, none of those things necessarily kills the ownership proposition. Several at the same time certainly could.
Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent Mercedes specialist who knows the W222 and, ideally, the M279 V12 specifically. A generic used-car inspection isn’t enough here.
What Else Could You Buy?
The biggest threat to the S65 might be sitting right beside it in the Mercedes lineup.
The S63 is objectively easier to justify. For 2018, the facelifted S63 switched to AMG’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 with 603 hp and 664 lb-ft, paired with a nine-speed transmission and 4Matic+ all-wheel drive. Mercedes quoted a 0-60 mph time of just 3.4 seconds, which is seven-tenths quicker than the S65.
And it’s cheaper. KBB puts the 2018 S63 at around $51,700, versus roughly $63,000 for the S65. That’s more than $11,000 in savings for a sedan that’s actually quicker to 60. The S63 is the rational choice. Which is precisely why I’d want the S65.
Other alternatives include:
Alpina B7
Bentley Flying Spur
BMW M760i
Porsche Panamera Turbo
But the S65 offers something increasingly rare among all of them: an AMG-built 6.0-liter V12, rear-wheel drive, and absolutely no attempt at efficiency or restraint.
Why The Mercedes-AMG S65 Makes Sense
Let’s be clear: It doesn’t, and that’s sort of the point.
There are much faster sedans. There are cheaper sedans to maintain. There are newer luxury cars with better infotainment, smarter driver-assistance systems, and significantly better fuel economy.
Even when the S65 was new, the S63 made more sense. But Mercedes doesn’t build anything like this anymore. When you buy an S65, you get 621 hp, 738 lb-ft of torque, rear-wheel drive, Magic Body Control, one of the finest luxury interiors of its era, and a hand-built twin-turbo V12. Just don’t spend your entire budget buying the car.
Find one with extensive service records. Have a Mercedes specialist inspect it. Keep several thousand dollars in reserve for the inevitable moment when some beautifully engineered German component decides it has had enough.
A cheap S65 isn’t actually cheap, but it might be worth it.
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| Chrysler | |
| Engine | Twin-Turbocharged 6.0-Liter V12 |
| Output | 621 Horsepower / 738 Pound-Feet |
| Transmission | Seven-Speed Automatic |
| Drive Type | Rear-Wheel Drive |
| Speed 0-60 MPH | 4.1 Seconds |
| Maximum speed | 186 Miles Per Hour |
| Weight | 4,960 Pounds |
| Base Price | $230,495 (2018) |
