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Mercedes-Benz built the S65 AMG as a quiet way to travel at ridiculous speed, and the spec sheet still reads like a dare: a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 rated at 604 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque, wrapped in a W220 S-Class that looks like every other well-kept luxury sedan in the valet line. This 15k-mile 2006 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG is live on Bring a Trailer, bidding sits at $12,200 as of Monday morning, and the auction ends Sunday, October 25.
The Sleeper Flagship
The S65 is the kind of car that gets forgotten because it did its job too quietly. The W220 was the big, formal S-Class, and AMG's version added a hand-built V12 with two turbochargers, rear-wheel drive, and a five-speed automatic to put the torque on the road. Nothing on the outside shouts about it. You get a trunk lid spoiler, AMG wheels, and a badge.
That engine family had a long second act. It later powered the 612-horsepower Maybach S650 Cabriolet we covered in this look at the 2017 Mercedes-Maybach S650 drop-top. And if a V12 sounds like too much commitment, the 518-horsepower V8 in this 2009 SL63 AMG on Bring a Trailer shows how AMG treated its big engines in this era.
What This One Brings
This S65 is finished in Pewter Metallic over beige leather and has covered about 15,000 miles, roughly 7,500 of them under the current owner, who bought it in 2022. The car is modified with a RENNtech tune and a RENNtech suspension lowering module, though the listing does not give a horsepower figure for the tune. It rides on 19-inch two-piece AMG wheels with AMG Sport suspension and Active Body Control, and behind them sit eight-piston front and four-piston rear AMG calipers over 15.4-inch and 13.7-inch rotors.
Inside, the equipment list is what you would expect from a flagship: heated and ventilated multi-contour front seats, power-adjustable rear seats, rear sunshades, COMAND navigation, a Bose stereo, and a gauge cluster with a 220-mph speedometer and a 7,000-rpm AMG tachometer. The listing includes a Carfax report, 18 service records, and a Florida title in the seller's name. The seller says this is one of 427 cars built for North America out of 600 worldwide, a claim worth confirming before you bid on it.
The Fine Print
The price history is the hook. This same car sold on Bring a Trailer for $45,000 in June 2018 and again for $36,500 in March 2021. Today's bid is a fraction of both, with six days left to run, so that number will move.
It also comes with caveats. The Carfax report notes damage in 2006 and again in 2026, and the seller told commenters the car was rear-ended while stopped at a light. The rear bumper cover and trunk lid were replaced under previous ownership, there is rust on the trunk lid, the tires are a mixed set of Michelins, and a bolt is missing from the rear-left wheel. Anyone bidding should look hard at the Active Body Control hardware and ask about that 2026 repair, because suspension and V12 upkeep are where cars like this get expensive.
Why It Belongs on Your Watch List
Plenty of 2000s performance cars with a fraction of this power cost more to buy. The S65 sits in the same overlooked corner as the supercharged sleeper we wrote about in this look at the Mercury Marauder, and it fits the pattern in our guide to undervalued collector segments worth watching. This one just happens to have two turbochargers and twelve cylinders.
Would you rather own a $12,000 V12 flagship and accept the risk, or spend the same money on a safer, slower car?
