Quick question: what three letters symbolize high speeds, gigantic german engines, and the smell of burning rubber? We bet that you immediately thought AMG. For over 50 years now, these power freaks from Affalterbach, Germany have manufactured some of the craziest, most desired performance cars out there - with the kind support of Mercedes-Benz, of course.
The two companies have always had a special relationship. AMG was founded by former Mercedes engineers Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher in 1967 as an engine forge. Over the years, they've developed a reputation as the go-to tuner if you wanted your Mercedes to have a bit more oomph. And this reputation took them quite far - in 1993, Mercedes signed AMG as an official contractor and purchased the company in 1999.
AMG has an impressive portfolio of impressive vehicles that they've developed both as an independent company and as a subsidiary of Mercedes. These impressive vehicles are directly responsible for AMG's image of a street fighter in a tailored suit. And as you've probably guessed already, these cars are the topic of this article. Without any further ado, here are the 15 greatest AMG cars ever made.
15 1971 300 SEL 6.8 AMG “The Red Pig”
This modified 300 SEL sedan is the car that kickstarted AMG's legend of crazy power and rebellion. The story is quite simple - they took the Mercedes 300 SEL, Germany's fastest sedan at the time, and made it faster. The engine was bored out from 6.6 to 6.8 liters, the door panels were replaced with lighter aluminum ones, and the whole body was painted cherry red.
When this bulky sedan rolled onto the Spa Francorchamps racetrack in 1971, the spectators laughed and pointed fingers. Little did they know that The Red Pig was about to win the endurance race in its class and finish second overall.
14 1986 300 E AMG “The Hammer”
Why is this car called the Hammer, you might ask? The answer is simple: because it's black, square and it crushed everything in its way. This modified W124 300E Mercedes is the car that practically invented the high-performance sedan genre. The recipe was simple: swap the standard 3.0-liter straight-six engine for a 396-hp 6.0-liter V8, flare the fenders black everything out. The rest is history.
13 1994 E 60 AMG
Remember the Mercedes 500E, developed in collaboration with Porsche? This is the same car, but taking to the extreme by your humble servants from Affalterbach. Rumor is, Mercedes execs were so impressed by the Hammer that they rushed to release the 500E.
Then, they enlisted AMG to make a limited edition version of the already limited edition model. This is how the E 60 was born. It had a larger 6.0-liter engine, AMG exhaust, suspension, and body kit, but most importantly, it was extremely rare. Only 45 were built between '94 and '95, and today it remains one of the most sought-after AMG classics.
12 1995 C 36 AMG
The '95 C 36 AMG might not be as powerful and obnoxious as other cars on this list, but it's still great and very important. This was the first car to be developed by AMG as a subsidiary of Mercedes and to be sold through Mercedes dealerships. With its sights aimed at the BMW M3, the C 36 made 276 hp from its 3.6-liter straight-six and went from 0 to 60 in only 5.8 seconds. To this day, it remains one of the most subtle and underrated AMG models.
11 1997 SL 73 AMG
One AMG model that wasn't so subtle was the SL 73 roadsters. The R129 generation of the SL is among the rarest, most special AMG-treated model. And the SL 73 reigns above them all. As the name suggests, it was fitted with a 7.3-liter V12 good for a whopping 518 horsepower. In fact, this is the exact same engine that was later sourced by Pagani for their Zonda supercar. However, at 85 units made, the SL 73 is almost twice as rare as the Zonda.
10 1998 CLK GTR
The CLK GTR is easily the most bonkers road-going Mercedes ever made. And as you can imagine, it, of course, developed by AMG. Essentially a road version of the CLK GTR racecar, it was the most expensive production car at the time - and it had the numbers to back this claim up. The 6.9-liter V12 put out 604 horsepower, that enabled the CLK GTR to catapult from 0 to 60 mph in only 3.8 seconds and reach the top speed of 214 mph.
9 2002 A 32K AMG
The 2002 A 32K AMG is somewhat of an oddball on this list - and an oddball in Mercedes' model history. It's hard to call it an AMG model - because it wasn't actually built by AMG, but by HWA - an AMG spin-off, founded by Hans Werner Aufrecht himself.
The A 32K used a 3.2-liter V6 from the SLK 32 AMG that out 370 horsepower - a crazy number for such a tiny car. The 0-60 time is rumored to be in the ballpark of 5 seconds, which makes the one-off A 32K one of the original high-performance hatchbacks.
8 2004 C 30 CDI AMG
The C 30 CDI AMG is yet another oddball, as the CDI designation may suggest. Yes, that's right - it was AMG's first and only diesel-powered car! A somewhat of an entry-level AMG model, it only made 230 horsepower, but a whopping 398 lb-ft of torque - more than both the C 32 and the C 55 AMG from the same generation. Who knows - the rarity and the weirdness of this model might just turn it into a future collectible.
7 2004 CLK DTM AMG
When the racing version of the CLK coupe won the DTM - the German Touring Car Championship, Mercedes-AMG decided to commemorate the moment and create something special for the fans. And once again, they asked their old friends HWA for help. The result was, perhaps, one of the most under-the-radar supercars.
To the unsavvy spectators, it must have looked like a CLK with a gaudy body kit. We wish we could see the looks on their faces when the driver put the foot down and unleashed the 574 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. The top sped of this monster is limited electronically to 200 mph - which is saying something.
6 2005 S 65 AMG
The 2005 S 65 was not the first V12 S-Class. Neither it was the first S-Class that AMG had tweaked. But it was the first official V12 AMG S-Class. And it was something else. 612 horsepower and 700 lb-ft of torque that just didn't seem to run out once you put your foot down were no joke.
Performance-wise, it was the pinnacle of a full-size luxury sedan at the time. In other words, you could go from 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph) in only 13.1 seconds - while seating 3 other people in heated, cooled, and massaged seats.
5 2007 R 63 AMG
To all of you who thought that the A 32K was an oddball - boy, we surely have something in store for you. Meet the R 63 AMG. Yes, it's the rather unpopular R-Class minivan that received the full AMG treatment - handbuilt 6.3-liter V8 with 503 horsepower, the top speed of 171 mph and the 0-60 acceleration of only 4.6 seconds. Quite predictably, it didn't sell well and was discontinued after only one model year.
4 2008 SL 65 AMG Black Series
There was a short, yet glorious period in world history when AMG was making the so-called Black Series edition of their cars. Street-legal race cars in their essence, the Black Series models came with significant weight reduction, bucket seats, and even crazier performance.
The 2008 SL 65 version was one of the most emblematic ones. It had a more aerodynamic body kit with a huge rear wing, wider tires, and tracks, larger turbos on the already enormous 6.0-liter Biturbo V12, and a stripped-down interior. A high-performance version of a high-performance version - what's not to love? Especially when you have 661 hp and towing-capable 738 lb-ft of torque.
3 2010 SLS AMG
It's hard to believe that the SLS AMG came out 10 years ago - it still looks so elegant and futuristic! A spiritual successor to the legendary 300SL Gullwing, it the first car to be designed and built from scratch by AMG. The SLS AMG was an instant classic upon its release, and even 10 years later it remains a highly desirable collector's vehicles. Unlike any other older AMG cars that you can pick up for quite cheap, the SLS will still set you back around $150,000.
2 2012 G 65 AMG
The greatness of the G 65 lies in its ridiculousness. It's an extremely outdated vehicle that absolutely does not need a 6.0-liter Biturbo V12 with 600 horsepower. But it has one, and that's amazing if you ask us. Defying logic and reason is, after all, what makes AMG so legendary - and the G 65 is just another confirmation of that.
1 2013 G 63 6x6 AMG
The G 65 is not the most illogical AMG car ever. The 6x6 G 63 is. And there is no other vehicle that symbolizes AMG's rebellious attitude better. Why did AMG make a lifted 6x6 G-Wagen? Because they can. Why does it have a 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with 536 hp? Because it can. Why did AMG charge almost 700,000 Euros for it? Because they can.