Rolls Royce Phantom

[Duke]

True... and keep in mind that those engines are still restrained due to the transmission not being able to handle more torque. With the same engine but without the ECU limiting boost paired with a suitable transmission that can handle more torque (7-speed DSG in the Veyron, perhaps?), I'm sure that a fully unleashed AMG V-12 can clear 210 mph, depending on which Benz the motor is in along with its aerodynamics.

The AMG wizards put one of those 6.3 twin blown V12's in an E-class and hit 350 km/h (218 something mph) with it. Pretty punchy. And that's in an E-class. Rest of the performance figures were actually quite poor. Something like 4.5 to 60 and 12'ish to 200, but I'll write that down to that fact it's, well, an E-class. 0-300 was a highly respectable low 30, though. Definitely a hugely powerful engine with all that grunt, but the E-class isn't a car made for fast standstill accelerations.

Ha, found it:

http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/magazine/3300.asp?id=12540

The limiters definitely reign in a lot of the potential of those TT V12's. Yeah it's easy to take them off. One chippie from your Merc dealer and it's done but its the principle that matters. When you buy a car so powerful and so expensive, one needn't take it back to the dealer to have it "released" in some way or another. It's just silly. Mercedes should sell you the car ready to go, not tamed.

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

The limiters definitely reign in a lot of the potential of those TT V12's. Yeah it's easy to take them off. One chippie from your Merc dealer and it's done but its the principle that matters. When you buy a car so powerful and so expensive, one needn't take it back to the dealer to have it "released" in some way or another. It's just silly. Mercedes should sell you the car ready to go, not tamed.

That's a Brabus-tuned AMG V-12. Nevertheless, it's a ridiculously capable car. It's the transmission that holds it back. I remember watching a recent episode of Fifth Gear where Vicky takes some wealthy guy for a spin in an S65 AMG. When she teaches him how to do doughnuts, something in the car broke. Clearly it's a weak link in an otherwise strong chain.

However, keep in mind that that particular V-12 is based on an older Mercedes engine platform with 3-valve heads. The more recent engines based on DOHC 4-valve heads (the 3.5-liter V-6, the 5.5-liter V-8, the 6.2-liter AMG V-8) have all shown significant jumps in overall efficiency, so sit back and wait for AMG to further tweak those existing designs. Wait until they drop a brand new V-12. This is just the beginning.