If you think the G 63 AMG is a bit too much – and, if you’re a normal human being, you do – then you’d be lost for words when it came to its bigger brother, the G 65 AMG.
What basically happened was that AMG took their lumbering twin-turbo V12 engine and stuck it into the engine bay of the G 63 AMG, where a twin-turbo V8 used to reside. The result is what Mercedes-Benz calls a G 65 AMG and the people of Germany call “the Rap Train”, as the Autoblog reviewer was about to find out.
For those of you who were born a little too late to remember, Rap was a thing before Hip-Hop became a thing. In the 80’s and 90’s, if you were reciting verses with a beat in the background you were a rapper, not a hip-hopper. Same thing, different names, really.
Anyway, Jonathon Ramsey, the guy in charge with analysing the G 65 AMG, also happens to be an african-american, so seeing him cruising around in this expensive luxury SUV can only confirm the previous conclusion regarding his occupation, especially in the eyes of German country-folk. Because that’s exactly where Jonathon is driving the G 65 AMG: across Germany and into Austria.
He’s doing this because AMG announced the G 65 AMG will soon make it over to the other side of the Atlantic, where Jonathon is from and where, up to this point, the top G-Class money can buy is the G 63 AMG.
The price in Europe for a G 65 AMG is a little over 270,000 euros, the kind of money only rappers and football players can afford for such a flashy big SUV – I know, we’re generalizing a bit, but you get the idea. In the States, it will be significantly less – about 217,000 USD. Oh, America…
Back to the car itself, Jonathon discovers that the power delivered by that huge V12 engine is, as expected, overwhelming, but the good thing is the G 65 AMG behaves just like a very powerful sedan in a straight line. When cornering, things do get a bit hairy, but only if you fail to adjust the speed to the severity of the bend – do that, and you’ll have minimum body roll and an overall nice experience.
All that power does come with a massive drawback: ridiculous fuel consumptions. When cruising down the unrestricted Autobahns in a car like this, it’s hard not to fall into temptation and stick your right foot into the accelerator. You know that exaggeration that says you can actually see the fuel gauge move? Well, let’s just say it’s not always an exaggeration…
Apart from the small fortune spent on gas, Jonathon is happy with his 10 day experience on board of the G-Class colossus. He says the car is pretty discreet for a G-Class as you’d have to get a very close look at the tailgate to know he wasn’t driving the “regular” G 63 AMG. Interior space is also good and the car proved very comfortable during the 2,500 kilometers road trip he took.
But does such a car make sense, one that costs almost 100,000 euros more than the G 63 AMG which looks and drives almost exactly the same? Jonathon reckons it does. To quote, he says: “It is another outlet for the buyer drowning in his disposable income, who chooses this SUV because it says G65 on the back, and Mercedes doesn’t sell a G67”. Well put, Jonathon, that’s the G 65 AMG – also known as Rap Train – in a nutshell for you.
Read the full review here – autoblog.com
