DOES BILL GATES HAVE A SISTER?(News)

Byline: J.P. VETTRAINO

For all AMG's hoopla over its in-house 6.3 V8, the company concedes that sometimes only a V12 will do. Its twin-turbo S65 concedes nothing, to anyone or anything.

The 2007 S65 AMG is the company's first crack at the new-generation S-Class introduced for 2006. When it reaches showrooms, the S65 could be the first AMG sedan to crack the $200,000 barrier, and it just might be worth every buck.

This S65 is powered by the same engine as the previous one: AMG's turn on Mercedes' 60-degree, three-valve 6.0-liter V12, with a turbo and charge cooler for each cylinder bank.

Think Frankenstein here. Improvements for 2007 include new turbos with tighter clearances in their housings and larger impellers, increasing maximum boost slightly to about 22 psi. The surface area of the air-to-water intercooler radiator has increased 70 percent, reducing intake air temperature 25 percent at full throttle, according to AMG.

Maximum output does not change (and torque is still electronically limited at 738 lb-ft to keep clutch plates in the five-speed automatic from turning to scrap). The new turbocharging hardware merely ensures that you get all 603 hp if you're blasting across the Arabian desert in 120 degrees Fahrenheit ambient.

The S65 features Mercedes' second-generation Active Body Control system, tuned for even flatter cornering and sporting feel. Its massive brake rotors are composite, with new eight-piston calipers that are supposed to combine the ride ...