Mercedes-Benz Announces 500-hp SUV

KICKING TIRES AUTO NEWS - - We like 500-horsepower cars as much as the next automotive publication, just check out our coverage of the Ford Shelby GT500. But we wonder why in the world Mercedes-Benz decided to stuff a 5.5-liter supercharged V-8 into its new 2007 G55 AMG. We may sound wimpy here, but the fact that this heavy SUV can now hustle to 62 mph in 5.5 seconds kind of scares us. As our resident car-mudgeon Joe Wiesenfelder said on hearing about the new G55: “Did you see the Bourne Supremacy? I’m all for suspending disbelief, but that thing should have rolled over about 20 times.”

Mercedes will actually make another 510-hp SUV, the ML63 AMG. But it looks like a sports car compared to the G55. No official word on the sale date for the 2007 G 55, but expect it by the end of 2006 at a price above the current model's sticker of $105,275.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]