The secret sauce of the S 65 Coupe is the AMG-built V12, a twin-turbo monster with 621 horses and 738 pound-feet (1,000 Nm) on deck. Even so, the S 65 Coupe simply couldn't pull off a clean launch.

The transition from the Global GT Series to the 1997 FIA GT marked a significant shift, allowing manufacturers to build race cars from scratch, rather than adapting street cars for the track.