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Los Angeles, California - As the LA morning fog slowly burned away, I wheeled the silver Mercedes-Benz SL roadster away from the swank Beverley Wilshire Hotel and onto Rodeo Drive. With the folding hardtop packed away, the big Merc’s velvety exhaust note bounced back from the houses of Georgio Armani, Michael Kors, Hugo Boss and Harry Winston (sadly, no friends of mine). Riding shotgun was the requisite sun-kissed shade-wearing blond.

Nothing to see here, folks. Just a page ripped from the California-cliché handbook. But all was not as it appeared. Impersonating the solvent LA dude was this pasty Canuck journalist. Playing the part of the blond was a nice Mercedes PR lady, and headlining the act was the $248,000 2007 M-B SL65 AMG – a car so adept at concealing its formidable talents that an Oscar for Best Poker Face is in order.

Only those in the know would spot the subtleties that distinguish the SL65 from lesser SL-Class cars: the exclusive five-spoke 19-inch alloys, a more aggressive AMG body treatment, two sets of chromed twin tailpipes and, oh yes, those V12 Biturbo badges that live just above the front fender side vents.

They pretty much tell the whole story.
Beneath this drop-top’s sloping hood lurks a pressurized 5980-cc SOHC 36-valve V12, hand assembled by one of 41 certified engine-builders at the AMG factory in Affalterbach, Germany. The modified Mercedes twelve-pot benefits from a precision-balanced crankshaft with a longer stroke, larger-bore forged pistons, an upgraded system for oil-spray cooling and bearing lubrication, and the all-important turbos that huff 21 psi of air into the dozen shiny lungs.
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The resulting output is a somewhat astounding: 603 hp at 4800 rpm along with 738 lb.-ft. of torque available from 2000-4000 rpm. The SL65 will blow by 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds.

Yet while puttering around LA, one has little sense of the insane potential underfoot. In fact, throttle tip-in is quite relaxed – almost lazy – taking a few more millimetres than expected of right foot flexing to nudge the SL65 away from a light.

The exhaust note is remarkably subtle too, hardly advertising the mechanical-mayhem those nutty AMG engineers have breathed into this car. And they say the Germans don’t have a sense of humour.

It takes forever to get out of the city, yet in this environment the SL65 plays the part of the luxury cruiser to perfection. The seats (with standard massage function) are a paragon of comfort and support, and of course the leather swathed and carbon-fibre trimmed interior is crafted to the highest standards, featuring every conceivable modern convenience and a killer sound system.
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All V12-powered AMG cars (SL65 roadster, S65 sedan and CL65 coupe) use a five-speed manumatic with paddle-shifters. The 7-GTronic transmission found in the V8-powered AMG cars can’t handle this torque load.

Merging onto the Hollywood Freeway, we lope along with the morning traffic, admiring the gazillion-dollar homes clinging to the lush hillsides.
It’s when we get farther north on the Golden State Freeway that the traffic starts to open up and opportunities for the big V12 to clear its throat present themselves. Hmmm… there’s a gap that needs closing.

I pull out and roll on a significant bit of throttle. Holy Mother of Pearl! The SL65 crouches on its haunches and catapults forward on an unrelenting tsunami of torque. The experience can only be described as civilized violence: a fascinating blend of insane forward thrust and upper-crust posh.
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When pressed, the V12 bellows just as you’d expect, yet the most surprising part of its repertoire is the thunderous woof-woof when you lift off and hit the binders – a fairly common occurrence in this car.

Formidable braking is a big part of the AMG equation – and so you’d hope with a 603-hp roadster weighing in at 2120 kg (4674 lb). Drawing on AMG’s motorsport heritage, the ventilated and perforated front discs measure 391 mm (15.4 inches) and feature eight-piston fixed calipers and a light-weight two-piece rotor and hub assembly that is more resistant to thermal stress. The rear vented and perforated discs measure 361 mm (14.2-inch) and are clamped by four-piston fixed calipers.
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At Santa Clarita we exit the highway and take Bouquet Canyon Road – a smooth and sinuous tract of tarmac that winds its way up through the wooded vales of the Sierra Pelona Mountains. One of them is called Sleepy Valley, but it wasn’t particularity sleepy on this day, with the big V12 chomping at the bit.

Here, the SL65 exhibits surprising poise for such a weighty thing. Below decks is a fully independent, double-control-arm front suspension and a five-link rear suspension that, along with the AMG-tuned Active Body Control (ABC) system, bestow upon this roadster sharp turn-in, a neutral disposition and barely a whiff of body roll.

Hustling the SL65 along these wondrous tree-lined roads is motoring at its finest, but as we effortlessly blast from bend to bend, the logical side of my brain wrestles with the rational behind this car’s outrageous, and largely untapped power.
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Then again, for the lucky few who will shell out a quarter-million for the limited edition SL65 AMG, logic will have very little to do with their purchase decision.

We pull into a wooded rest stop at Twin Oaks for photos and refreshments. The local police have shown up (a gaggle of thunderous AMG vehicles does not go unnoticed around here), but there’s no posturing or finger wagging. The officers are all questions and quiet reverence.

Six-hundred and three horsepower will do that.