TWO CARS IN ONE; The Mercedes-Benz CL65 is a big luxury coupe, and a snarling supercar.(News)(Product/Service Evaluation)

Byline: Wes Raynal

On a sultry late-summer morning in the South of France, we slipped behind the wheel for a drive of an innocent-looking Mercedes CL coupe. We put the car in Drive and crept out of the parking area to begin our evaluation. A few corners and a couple of stabs at the gas pedal later, it was clear something sinister lay beneath that long silver hood. We quickly discovered the best thing would be to just take it nice and easy... slow deep breaths... eyes straight ahead... relaxed grip on the wheel. And always, always, in the back of our minds remember: This car has 604 freakin' horsepower.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Mercedes-Benz CL65.

What exactly is the CL65? It is the next step up from the CL55 and/or CL600, and nothing less than Mercedes' latest uber coupe. The CL65 indeed plays in some rare air: Though exact prices aren't firm, expect a $175,000 sticker and a limited supply of about 200 cars per year for two or three years. The CL65 will sprint to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds, which is supercar territory. Top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph. (All you would-be hotshots with your Bentley Continental GTs, think of the CL65 this way: All of a sudden you're down 52 hp and a couple of tenths to 60 mph.)

That 604 hp (a U.S. conversion from the European figure; the final hp number might be a bit different) makes CL65 the most powerful production car in the 35-year history of the Mercedes-AMG partnership. The CL55's comparatively wimpy 5.4-liter V8 "only'' makes 493 hp. Further, the CL65's 6.0-liter, intercooled twin-turbo V12 produces a thumping 714 lb-ft of torque between 2000 and 4000 rpm.

The engine is coupled to a five-speed automatic transmission, with an automanual system Mercedes calls Speedshift. It includes steering wheelmounted shift buttons. Clutch pack discs and driveshafts have been beefed up to handle the increased power and torque, but believe it or not, the engine is detuned. The 6.0-liter is capable of an astonishing 700 hp and 885 lb-ft of torque, but AMG engineers figure the five-speed auto would scatter itself like a grenade if all that oomph went through it. Mercedes recently showed a seven-speed automatic under development that is designed to handle these kinds of power and torque levels.

The standard 6.0-liter in the CL600 has been modified. It gets a stronger crankshaft, main bearings and connecting rods, as well as a higher-capacity oil pump and oil cooler. Engine development began in 2001, and each engine is hand-built, side-by-side that of the upcoming Mercedes SLR's V8. Forty-two test engines ran for a total of 5500 hours before the engine was approved. Three-time Le Mans winner and triple DTM champ Klaus Ludwig did much of the development driving at DaimlerChrysler proving grounds, where engineers say that with the electronic governor off, a development CL65 reached 208 mph. Whoa!