Mercedes-AMG Black Series: Every Model, Production Numbers and Current Prices

Mercedes-AMG has built exactly six road cars wearing the Black Series badge since 2006, and each one sits at the extreme end of its model line: lighter, more powerful, and stripped of the comfort features that get in the way of lap time. The lineage runs from the naturally aspirated SLK 55 AMG Black Series that started the badge in 2006 through to the twin-turbo V8 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series that ended production in 2023 and still holds an official Nürburgring lap record. This guide covers all six Mercedes-AMG Black Series models in order, with verified specifications, disputed production figures flagged as disputed, and where each one trades in today's collector market.

What Is Mercedes-AMG Black Series?

Mercedes-AMG Black Series is the most extreme trim level Mercedes-AMG applies to a road car, sitting above even the standard AMG and AMG S/R variants of the same model. Since the badge appeared on the SLK 55 AMG Black Series in 2006, Mercedes-AMG has used it exactly six times, always on a two-door coupe or roadster, and never on an all-wheel-drive or four-door car.

Every Black Series follows the same engineering brief regardless of decade: a wider front and rear track achieved with flared bodywork rather than simply wider wheels, a manually adjustable coilover suspension setup borrowed from motorsport, larger brakes, a stripped and lightened interior, and a power increase over the standard AMG version of the same car — typically delivered by the same basic engine rather than an entirely new unit. Aerodynamic addenda — front splitters, rear diffusers, and on the later cars fixed or adjustable rear wings — are functional rather than cosmetic, and each Black Series carries unique bodywork panels not shared with the standard car it is based on.

Production has always been limited and, in AMG's own words, deliberately scarce: no Black Series has ever been built in the thousands, and several of the six have never had an official global production total published by Mercedes-AMG at all — a recurring theme in this guide, and one worth flagging honestly rather than repeating uncritically cited numbers as fact.

How Many Mercedes-AMG Black Series Models Are There?

There are six Mercedes-AMG Black Series models built to date, spanning three engine families and four different Mercedes-Benz/Mercedes-AMG model lines:

1. SLK 55 AMG Black Series (R171) — 2006–2007, the car that started the badge, based on the SLK-Class roadster.
2. CLK 63 AMG Black Series (C209) — 2007–2008, the first Black Series exported outside Germany in real volume, based on the CLK-Class coupe.
3. SL 65 AMG Black Series (R230) — 2008–2009, the only V12 Black Series ever built, based on the SL-Class.
4. C 63 AMG Coupe Black Series (C204) — 2012–2013, developed alongside the SLS AMG GT3 customer racer, based on the C-Class Coupe.
5. SLS AMG Black Series (C197) — 2013, the only gullwing-door Black Series, based on the SLS AMG.
6. Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (C190) — 2021–2023, the newest and most powerful, based on the Mercedes-AMG GT.

No Black Series has been built since the GT Black Series ended production in 2023, though Mercedes-AMG has confirmed a successor is in development (see "What Comes Next?" below).

Every Mercedes-AMG Black Series Model at a Glance

*Mercedes-AMG's history page and period road tests cite 320 km/h for the SL 65 Black Series; Mercedes-Benz's own factory archive data sheet lists 250 km/h. Both official sources are cited in "Sources & Verification" below.

Mercedes-AMG SLK 55 Black Series: The Car That Started It All (2006–2007)

The Mercedes-AMG SLK 55 Black Series (chassis code R171) launched the Black Series badge in mid-2006 and stayed in production for less than a year, from July 2006 to April 2007. It was never sold in the United States.

Mercedes-AMG's own naturally aspirated 5.4-litre M113 V8 — the same E55/113.989 unit found in the standard SLK 55 AMG — was left mechanically unchanged, but the car around it was not. AMG replaced the SLK's folding metal roof with a fixed lightweight hardtop, fitted a manually adjustable coilover suspension, bigger brakes, and wider front and rear fenders to cover a track widened by 235/35R19 front and 265/30R19 rear wheels. The result was a car that weighed 1,495 kg and produced 400 hp (294 kW) at 5,750 rpm and 383 lb-ft (520 Nm) at 3,750 rpm, reaching 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and topping out at an electronically limited 174 mph (280 km/h).

Production numbers for the SLK 55 Black Series are the most contested of any Black Series. Mercedes-Benz's own public archive and a Mercedes-Benz USA retrospective both cite 120 units, but German outlet Auto Bild reports that Mercedes-Benz Classic itself could not confirm an exact figure and instead estimates 100 to 150, while at least one specialist dealer has claimed a total of 132. None of these figures should be treated as definitively official.

At launch the SLK 55 Black Series carried a German list price of €107,300 (about $124,400 at current exchange rates), reflecting its status as a low-volume, Europe-only special. Because it was never officially sold new in the US and rarely changes hands, there is no verified public record of a completed sale in the used market — only asking prices, which recent listings have placed in the roughly $170,000–$270,000 (€147,000–€233,000) range. Treat any headline "value" for this car as an asking-price estimate rather than a confirmed transaction.

Mercedes-AMG CLK 63 Black Series: Specs, Price and What It's Worth Today (2007–2008)

The Mercedes-AMG CLK 63 Black Series (C209) followed the SLK in April 2007 and ran through March 2008, becoming the first Black Series exported in meaningful numbers, including to the United States. It is based on the CLK-Class coupe and shares wide-body cues with the CLK DTM AMG racing programme.

Power comes from AMG's naturally aspirated 6.2-litre M156 V8 (badged E62/156.982), tuned to 507 hp (373 kW; 500 hp on the US-market rating) at 6,800 rpm and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) at 5,250 rpm. AMG fitted adjustable coil-over springs, deleted the rear seats in favour of additional bracing, and widened the body dramatically over the standard CLK 63. At 1,540 kg, the CLK 63 Black Series reaches 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and a governed 186 mph (300 km/h).

Unlike the SLK, the CLK 63 Black Series' production total is officially confirmed and consistent across sources: 700 units worldwide, agreed by both Mercedes-Benz's public archive and Mercedes-Benz USA. Launch pricing is reported at approximately $135,000 in the US (some sources cite $138,000), equivalent to roughly €116,000–€119,000.

In today's collector market, CLK 63 Black Series values have ranged as widely as $73,700 to $247,500 (€63,600–€213,500) across recorded sales, with a tracked average around $145,000 and a trailing 12-month range of roughly $96,000 to $195,000. A recent verified sale closed at $143,000 at Mecum's Indianapolis auction in May 2026, while the highest confirmed sale price on record — $247,500 — came from a Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale sale reported around January 2024 (sources differ slightly on the exact date).

Mercedes-AMG SL 65 Black Series: The Only V12 Black Series (2008–2009)

The Mercedes-AMG SL 65 Black Series (R230) is the only Black Series ever built around a V12. Built from September 2008 to August 2009 and developed with AMG's motorsport partner HWA, it shares only its doors and mirrors with the standard SL — every other exterior panel is unique carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic, including a fixed hardtop roof in place of the standard SL's retractable metal top.

Under the hood is AMG's twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre M275 V12 (E60/275.983), producing 670 hp (493 kW; 661 hp on the US rating) at 5,400 rpm and a governed 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque between 2,200 and 4,200 rpm. Mercedes-AMG's own history page and contemporary road tests from Car and Driver both cite a top speed of 199 mph (320 km/h), though Mercedes-Benz's public factory archive data sheet for this car instead lists 250 km/h (155 mph) — a discrepancy between official sources that this guide flags rather than resolves. At 1,870 kg it is also the heaviest Black Series by a wide margin.

Mercedes-AMG built 350 SL 65 Black Series cars in total, with 175 allocated to the US market — a figure confirmed consistently across sources, unlike several of its siblings. Launch pricing sat at roughly $300,000 (about €259,000), nearly double the standard SL 65's list price at the time.

The V12 layout and rarity have kept SL 65 Black Series values firm: recorded sales in 2026 have ranged from roughly $300,000 to $425,000 (€259,000–€367,000), with an average near $352,000 and one valuation tracker's estimate closer to $405,000. A verified sale by RM Sotheby's at Monterey in August 2025 closed at $417,500, and the highest price ever recorded for the model — $425,000 — dates to a January 2022 sale through RENNtech.

Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe Black Series: Specs and 2026 Values (2012–2013)

After a three-year gap, the Black Series badge returned on the Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe Black Series (C204), which had its world premiere at the Nürburgring Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend on 23–24 July 2011 before going on sale in Europe from January 2012 and in the US as a 2013 model-year car. It was developed alongside the SLS AMG GT3 customer racer and borrows the SLS's forged engine internals.

The C 63 Coupe Black Series uses AMG's naturally aspirated 6.2-litre M156 V8 in "LS" tune (E63 LS/156.985), rated at 517 hp (380 kW; 510 hp in the US) at 6,800 rpm and 457 lb-ft (620 Nm) at 5,200 rpm. AMG gave it a new, wider front axle, adjustable coilover suspension, a mechanical limited-slip differential, two-piece composite brakes, an aluminium hood, a functional front splitter and rear diffuser, and lighter forged wheels. At 1,710 kg the car reaches 60 mph in a preliminary 4.2 seconds and a governed 186 mph (300 km/h).

Production figures are inconsistent: Mercedes-Benz USA's own release states 800 units, the most widely cited figure, but Mercedes-Benz's public factory archive notes the total was "not separately documented," and German outlet Auto Bild has cited a lower figure of 600. This guide treats 800 as a widely reported estimate rather than a confirmed factory total. US launch pricing was $105,000 (about €90,600).

Collector values for the C 63 Coupe Black Series in 2026 have spanned roughly $77,000 to $190,000 (€66,400–€163,900), with an average near $137,500 (a separate valuation tracker estimates a lower average around $107,000). A Bring a Trailer sale of a modified example closed at $76,777 in April 2026, and the highest confirmed sale on record is $188,000 from August 2023. A widely-circulated figure of $251,000 for this model could not be confirmed on the source page it is attributed to, and is not used here.

Mercedes-AMG SLS Black Series: The Most Valuable Black Series (2013)

The Mercedes-AMG SLS Black Series (C197) is the only Black Series with the SLS's signature gullwing doors, and — following a record-breaking sale in August 2026 — it is now the single most valuable Black Series of the six. It went on sale in the summer of 2013 as a 2014 model-year car in the US market, and shares its basic silhouette with the SLS AMG GT3 customer race car it was developed to echo.

Its naturally aspirated 6.2-litre M159 V8 (E63/159.980) is the most powerful non-turbocharged engine ever fitted to a Black Series, rated at 631 hp (464 kW; 622 hp on the US rating, versus 583 hp in the standard SLS AMG GT) at 7,400 rpm, with peak torque of 468 lb-ft (635 Nm) at 5,500 rpm. AMG raised the rev limit from 7,200 to 8,000 rpm and fitted a titanium exhaust system that alone saved about 28.7 lb (13 kg), cutting roughly 154 lb (70 kg) overall versus the standard SLS AMG GT. At 1,625 kg it is quoted at 0–60 mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 196 mph (315 km/h).

No official global production total for the SLS Black Series has ever been published by Mercedes-AMG. The only official figure on record states that fewer than 200 were imported to the United States; a widely cited estimate of 350 units worldwide appears in multiple outlets including Car and Driver, but is consistently hedged with language like "we hear" or "estimated," and at least one enthusiast-compiled breakdown puts actual US deliveries at 132. Treat 350 as an unverified estimate, not a factory figure. US launch pricing was $275,000 plus a $1,800 destination charge (the German list price was €249,900, about $289,700 today).

The SLS Black Series set a new all-time record for the model at Mecum's Monterey auction on 14 August 2026, when a 1-of-5 Mars Red example sold for $1,815,000 — a 93% jump over the previous record of $940,000 set by RM Sotheby's at Amelia Island in March 2023. Broader market data is split: one valuation tracker puts the median around $583,500 with a "tracker value" near $1.62 million reflecting the new record, while an older, separate dataset shows an average closer to $633,000 across a $451,000–$940,000 range that predates the August 2026 sale. However it is measured, the SLS Black Series is now comfortably the most valuable of the six.

Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series: The Nürburgring Record Holder (2021–2023)

The Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (C190) is both the newest and the most powerful Black Series built to date. Revealed on 9 July 2020, it was built from around October 2020 to early 2022 and sold through the 2023 model year, making it the last Black Series produced before the badge went on hiatus.

Its 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 (M178 LS2) uses a flat-plane crankshaft — a first for a Black Series — and produces 730 PS (720 hp on the US SAE rating; 537 kW) between 6,700 and 6,900 rpm, with 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque available from 2,000 rpm all the way to 6,000 rpm. A carbon-fibre torque tube, GT3-inspired aerodynamics, an adjustable front splitter and a large adjustable rear wing complete a package that gets the car from 0–60 mph in 3.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 202 mph (325 km/h).

On 4 November 2020, AMG works driver Maro Engel set an official Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record for a series-production car in a standard-specification GT Black Series, timed at 6:48.047 over the current 12.944-mile (20.832 km) full circuit configuration, or 6:43.616 on the shorter 12.8-mile Sport Auto Supertest configuration used for direct comparisons — beating the previous record-holder, the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, by 1.354 seconds on that shorter benchmark. The lap was independently verified by wige SOLUTIONS timing equipment and a notary, and it still stands as of this writing.

Mercedes-AMG has never published an exact global production total for the GT Black Series; the widely reported figure across outlets including Motor1 and MercedesBlog is approximately 1,700 units, including 40 "P One Edition" cars sold exclusively to buyers of the Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar. US launch pricing was $325,000 plus a $1,050 destination charge and a $1,000 gas-guzzler tax (the German list price was €335,240, about $388,600 today).

Current market values for standard GT Black Series cars in 2026 sit roughly between $429,000 and $511,000 (€370,000–€441,000), with an average near $440,000; P One Edition cars trade meaningfully higher, around $705,000. A Bring a Trailer sale of a lightly used example (927 miles) closed at $429,000 in July 2026. The all-time high sale price is disputed between two collector databases — CLASSIC.COM records $775,000 for a P One Edition sold in August 2023, while another source puts the same car type's record at $753,500 from a Mecum sale in January 2024 — and this guide reports both rather than picking a winner.

How Many Mercedes-AMG Black Series Have Been Built in Total?

Adding up the most widely cited production figure for each of the six Mercedes-AMG Black Series models gives a combined total of roughly 3,920 cars built since 2006 — but that number should be read as an approximation, not a verified fact. Two of the six figures (SLS and GT Black Series) are media estimates that Mercedes-AMG has never officially confirmed, and a third (C 63 Coupe Black Series) is disputed even among Mercedes-Benz's own sources.

Mercedes Black Series Prices Today

None of the six Mercedes-AMG Black Series models has a fixed market price. What exists instead is a moving picture built from recent auction results and dealer asking prices, and it varies with condition, mileage, colour and ownership history. The table below separates a typical 2026 market range from a single recent verified sale for each model, so the two are never confused.

Market check: September 12, 2026

All figures above are in US dollars, since that is the currency in which the deepest verified auction records exist. At the European Central Bank's 11 September 2026 reference rate of EUR 1 = USD 1.1592, a $500,000 car converts to roughly €431,000. Note the distinction throughout this guide between an asking price, which is what a seller wants, and a verified sale, which is what a buyer actually paid at a documented auction or listing close.

Which Mercedes-AMG Black Series Is the Rarest?

The honest answer is that no one, including Mercedes-AMG's own archive, can fully settle this. The SLK 55 AMG Black Series carries the lowest most-cited production figure at 120 units, and that number appears on the factory's own data sheet. But Mercedes-Benz Classic itself says it cannot supply an official figure for the car, and estimates from other sources range from 100 to 150 — so even the "confirmed" 120 sits inside a disputed range.

The SLS AMG Black Series presents a different kind of scarcity problem. Mercedes-AMG has never published an official worldwide total for it at all; the factory archive lists production as not separately documented. The only figure AMG has confirmed on record is "fewer than 200" cars imported to the United States. The widely repeated worldwide total of 350 is a media estimate, and one breakdown circulated among owners puts actual US deliveries at just 132 cars. Depending on which of those figures is closest to the truth, the SLS could be rarer than the SLK 55.

By contrast, the CLK 63 (700 units) and SL 65 (350 units, 175 for the US) are both confirmed consistently across the Mercedes-Benz factory archive and Mercedes-Benz USA's own press materials, making them far easier to rank with confidence. Given the evidence available, the SLK 55 AMG Black Series holds the most-cited claim to "rarest Black Series," but the SLS AMG Black Series is the strongest challenger, precisely because so little about its production has ever been officially confirmed.

Which Mercedes-AMG Black Series Is the Most Valuable?

On current auction evidence, the SLS AMG Black Series is unambiguously the most valuable Black Series. A 1-of-5 Mars Red example sold for $1,815,000 at Mecum's Monterey auction on 14 August 2026, a new record for the model that beat the previous high of $940,000 (set at RM Sotheby's Amelia Island sale in March 2023) by 93 percent.

The SL 65 AMG Black Series follows at a considerable distance, with a 2026 market range of roughly $300,000 to $425,000 and a verified $417,500 sale in August 2025. Standard Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series cars trade in the $429,000 to $511,000 band, but the rare 40-unit "P One Edition" — sold only to confirmed Mercedes-AMG ONE buyers — has reached as high as $775,000, putting it ahead of a standard SL 65 but still short of the SLS record.

Several factors likely explain the SLS premium: its unique gullwing-door body style shared with no other Black Series, its position as the range-topping halo model of its generation, genuine scarcity given that Mercedes-AMG has never confirmed a global production total, and a broader 2026 collector-market surge in interest for early-2010s Mercedes-AMG halo cars.

Black Series vs. AMG GT R, GT R Pro and AMG ONE

Mercedes-AMG has been consistent on this point: the AMG GT R, the harder-edged GT R Pro, and the Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar are not Black Series models. Mercedes-Benz USA's own 2020 Black Series retrospective states plainly that "only five special models have worn the distinctive Black Series badge" before the GT Black Series became the sixth — a list that explicitly excludes the GT R and GT R Pro, even though both were already on sale at the time that retrospective was published.

The AMG GT R Pro sits one rung below the Black Series in both positioning and price: at roughly $199,650, it costs about half of what a GT Black Series commanded at launch. The Mercedes-AMG ONE, meanwhile, is a standalone hypercar built around a genuine Formula 1-derived hybrid powertrain, with no shared engineering lineage to any Black Series engine. Its only formal connection to the Black Series line is the 40-unit "P One Edition" of the GT Black Series, sold exclusively to confirmed AMG ONE customers.

One further note on terminology: a widely circulated Wikipedia passage on the Mercedes-AMG GT uses the phrase "AMG GT R Black Series." That is not an official Mercedes-AMG name and should not be treated as one.

What Comes Next for Black Series?

In March 2026, Mercedes-AMG officially confirmed that the CONCEPT AMG GT TRACK SPORT forms the technical basis for both a new GT3 customer racer and a future Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, with the road car serving as the GT3's homologation base. Michael Schiebe, then chairman of the Management Board of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, said: "We are developing the most extreme Black Series ever. At the same time, we want to set the next record-breaker in motorsport with the future GT3. The foundation for this is the CONCEPT AMG GT TRACK SPORT — that is exactly what the future Black Series and the new GT3 will do."

Prototype testing has been underway since October 2025 at Immendingen, Bilster Berg, Portimão, Monteblanco and the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with test cars identifiable by yellow-green camouflage accents. In earlier remarks to Car and Driver, Schiebe said any new Black Series "really has to convince in terms of performance" and "needs to be radical." No name, power figure, price, production volume or launch date has been announced. Anything beyond these confirmed details is speculation.

Final Thoughts

Six cars, three engine families, and almost two decades under one philosophy: take an already-fast AMG, strip out everything that does not make it faster, and charge accordingly. From the naturally aspirated SLK 55 that started the badge in 2006 to the twin-turbo, Nürburgring record-setting GT Black Series that closed it out in 2023, the formula barely changed even as the engines, materials and prices moved dramatically. The SLS AMG Black Series's $1,815,000 sale in August 2026 shows the market has caught up with that history, and the confirmed CONCEPT AMG GT TRACK SPORT programme means the Black Series story is not finished.

Of the six built so far — the raw, unassisted CLK 63, the V12-powered SL 65, the naturally aspirated SLS, or the twin-turbo, Nürburgring record-setting GT Black Series — which one would you choose to actually drive?

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & Verification

Facts, specifications and prices in this guide were verified against Mercedes-Benz's own public archive and Mercedes-Benz USA press releases wherever possible, with independent outlets used to corroborate or flag conflicts. Key sources include the Mercedes-Benz public archive pages for the SLK 55, CLK 63, SL 65, C 63 Coupe and SLS Black Series; the Mercedes-Benz USA Black Series retrospective, the 2014MY SLS AMG Black Series release, the C 63 Coupe Black Series release, the GT Black Series release and the GT Black Series Nürburgring record release; the Nürburgring's own record confirmation; Mercedes-AMG's official Black Series history page, its AMG ONE page and its March 2026 CONCEPT AMG GT TRACK SPORT / GT3 Black Series announcement; Car and Driver's history of every Black Series and its future Black Series report; Carscoops' GT3 homologation coverage; Auto Bild's SLK 55 value and production report; DriveIndex's CLK 63 and SLS value pages; CLASSIC.COM's CLK 63, SL 65 and C 63 Coupe market pages; Hagerty's live 2026 Monterey Car Week coverage of the SLS record sale; Wikipedia's Mercedes-AMG GT entry; MercedesBlog's GT Black Series production-end report; Motor1's GT Black Series production confirmation; and the European Central Bank's euro reference exchange rate for 11 September 2026. Where sources disagree — on production totals or record sale prices — this guide states both figures rather than picking a winner.