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Mercedes-Benz SLK
June 11, 2012
IT’S WEIRD I guess. BMW’s Z cars and Audi’s TT have never had their machismo questioned, despite offering similar packages on paper to the little Mercedes-Benz SLK. Instead, the Merc earns itself many emasculating nicknames such as ‘hair-dressers car’ and ‘SL-Gay’. And sure enough, previous iterations were merry little machines, but each update during its lifetime has slowly injected the motoring equivalent of testosterone into its DNA. I reckon this new third model has been juiced the hardest as its shape now resembles a twee SLS – and I mean that in the best possible way – with its bluff nose and sharp creases in the metalwork less the pert rear-end, but still very ‘mini me’.
Visual cues that set it apart from lesser SLKs include darker lamps, twin AMG exhaust tips and embossed AMG seats. The steering wheel, flattened at top and bottom, is also an AMG item. So are the clocks that spool up when you turn over the ignition. The AMG even gets a similar powertrain to the gullwing SLS, here as a 5.5-litre V8 versus the 6.2-litre item in the supercar. The power difference is vast. The littler car loses 110kW to the SLS (see page 44), which has 420kW with its Performance Pack. But don’t allow yourself to be distracted by thinking the cup is half empty or you’ll miss the bit where I tell you that the 1610kg SLK 5.5 AMG (just 10kg lighter than the supercar) churns out an explosive 310kW and 540Nm to its ContiSport-covered 18-inch rear wheels.
As a result, the SLK’s claimed 0-100kph pace of 4.6 seconds is just half-a-second off the numbers we achieved with the SLS Roadster, despite swapping cogs via a Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic automatic transmission. As usual, top speed is electronically limited to a gentlemanly 250kph but an extra 30kph can by unleashed when you opt for the R25000 Driver’s Pack software upgrade. That takes the price of the SLK 5.5 AMG Roadster neatly to R1 million. That’s a shed-load of money, priced well above the Z and TT mentioned earlier – dearer, even, than the upcoming new Porsche Boxster. In its defence, the SLK is the only V8 in this segment. Add the R35000 Performance Pack upgrade with its stiffer suspension, uprated rear differential and six-pot brake calipers plus a couple of optional extras, and you’ll end up with a price tag similar to what you’ll find tacked onto a new Porsche 911. The other performance figure you might be interested in is 20 seconds: that’s how long it takes its clever Vario-roof to stow away.
Legions of safety and performance technology plus advancements in drivetrain efficiency from Mercedes’ F1 and road car endeavours are present here including spray-guided fuel injection and the ability to shut down four cylinders at low speed to conserve fuel, effectively turning the SLK into a V4. This helps endow it with a commendable 8.4ℓ/100km combined cycle economy figure.
AMG Direct Steering and torque vectoring are present too, and for the first time ever, exhaust flaps have been introduced allowing you to cruise silently through the city then blast properly on the quicker roads. It’s a different sound to what we’re used to in the raucous AMG saloons, smoother but still filled with menace. Drop the hammer and you’re thrust on a hard and fast trajectory towards the horizon, the kind you feel in the neck. SLK AMG is quick, loud and surprisingly nimble, albeit very light at the helm. Keep it pinned near the redline and the instrument panel readout glows bright red, acting as a peripheral vision shift indicator. A quick rearwards tug on the right paddle rewards you with a near instantaneous upshift. I like this ’box a lot, especially the sounds it elicits from the engine.
There’s a lot to like here, the SLK AMG feels more the driver’s car than ever before. Still, if I’m honest, the R975000 base price has put me off a bit. There’s so much metal made of more exotic stuff around this price point and I’m just not convinced that the SLK has enough to fend them off
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