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When you think of luxury and performance automobile manufacturers a few most likely come to mind. Narrow that down to Europe, and specifically German automakers, and we arrive at the ‘Big Three’ of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Technically, BMW is the oldest of these three companies, being founded in 1916. That said, it wasn’t until 1928 that they started building cars which means that Mercedes-Benz, founded in 1926, is the oldest brand when it comes to automobile manufacturing. Not sold? Go back 40 years before that and we see that Karl Benz built what is considered the first gasoline powered car, the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen. While it looked nothing like the cars of the 20th century, the Motorwagen started the world on its path to the love affair with the automobile.
Since then, this division of Daimler AG has established itself as a premier designer and builder of cars. From sedans and SUVs for the family, to performance coupes and race-inspired models fit for a Formula 1 star, Mercedes is known around the world for providing a perfect blend of luxury, practicality and performance. Naturally, stealing the spotlight for this brand are the highest performance models developed through years of partnership with the likes of AMG and McLaren. Those who know cars understand that whenever a Mercedes has been manufactured in partnership with either of these performance organizations, the end result is a seriously high-end car.
The following looks at 10 of the best performing Mercedes in terms of 0-60 times. Unsurprisingly, AMG have their hand in most of the following cars but it really doesn’t matter because, as you’ll see, these are all very nice cars which anyone would love to have in their garage. In the world of car performance, times can often vary by one or two tenths of a second, so we narrowed down the 0-60 times with the help of a few respected automotive magazines. To keep the variety, only the fastest car from each respective class was allowed on the list. We also opted not to include any Formula 1 racers because they would dominate every entry position - making for a rather bland comparison.
10. 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550 – 3.9 sec 0-60 mph
Via dieselstation.com
Those familiar with the nomenclature of Mercedes know that the SL in SL550 stands for ‘sport’ and ‘lightweight.’ Looking at this car we get the sport label but after learning it has a weight of around two tons, we’re not so sure about the whole lightweight title. The SL class has been around since the 1950s and matching a variety of 6, 8 and 12 cylinder engines with several generations of sporty two-door coupes and roadsters. The 2013 SL550 is powered by a 4.7L twin-turbocharged engine which gives it 429 hp. More importantly, helping to launch this car from a stop all the way to 60mph in under 4 seconds is the engine’s impressive 516 lb-ft of torque.
T-8. 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S – 3.6 sec 0-60 mph
Via emercedesbenz.com
Only in production since 2014, this new two-door two-seater is meant to go head-to-head with the likes of the Porsche 911, both on the track and in the showroom. Developed by Mercedes-AMG, the GT weighs in at a little over a ton and a half and is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0L V8. This powerplant gives the GT S just over 500 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. One look inside and you’ll understand what Mercedes mean when they say this car is designed with an aviation theme. Beyond all the controls mounted in the airplane-inspired center console, this car flies. Official company releases state the GT S will do 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds. Away from the Mercedes test facilities, drivers are finding they can manage to shave off a whole tenth of a second.
