Mercedes-Benz S 65, Black & Red

The W222 S-Class was the car in which Mercedes restated what a flagship saloon should feel like, and the AMG range-topper sat at the summit of it: a hand-built twin-turbo V12 buried under that long bonnet, badged here as a 65-series car (the script on the wing reads V12 BITURBO). It is a machine that hides its violence well. The proportions are pure limousine, the cabin a quiet room lined with Nappa and ambient light, yet the AMG grille, the deeper front apron and the quad tailpipes admit to roughly six hundred horsepower routed to the rear wheels. This is the choice of the buyer who wants to arrive without announcing, then disappear at a speed no one expected.

The model is finished in deep gloss black, set off by a striking red treatment, multi-spoke wheels, lower-body accents and calipers all in matching red, which lifts the dark bodywork rather than shouting over it. The panel gaps, the chromed grille louvres and the lit-effect tail lamps reward a close look, and the whole sits on a red leather-look presentation base. It is built at 1:18 with the restraint the real car deserves.