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Mercedes SLK out in the open

Sleek two-seater drop-top scooped - buyers can look forward to more luxury and power than ever before.

Mercedes SLK

Text: Sam Hardy / Photos: Larson

27th January 2010

 
High-quality insulation will mean that, with the roof up, the SLK will offer the refinement of a coupé.
THE lid has been lifted on the SLK! Auto Express can bring you the best pictures yet of Mercedes’ all-new drop-top – a sports car which will take the ‘baby SL’ tag to new heights with more powerful engines, sleeker looks and even greater luxury.

Set to make its debut later this year, the SLK will take on Audi’s TT Roadster and BMW’s Z4 when it goes on sale in early 2011. As with the Z4, it will be a two-seater – but whereas the BMW has grown in size, the new third-generation SLK will keep its compact dimensions, helping to retain its agile feel.

With a smart new look that refines the current car’s much loved shape, it will certainly turn heads. The major changes are at the front, where the SLR-style nose has been replaced by a more upright grille, aping that of the SLS. New headlights are joined by LED strips in the lower bumper to add aggression, too. At the rear are fresh tail-lights and classy chrome exhausts.

Borrowing from its SL big brother, the new SLK will also be available with the option of a panoramic glass ‘vario’ roof. Essentially a panel of toughened, tinted glass which replaces the central metal roof section, it is designed specifically to let extra light in – ideal if the weather is cloudy. The option is already popular on the SL, and is expected to be a welcome addition to the SLK’s equipment list.

High-quality insulation will mean that, with the roof up, the SLK will offer the refinement of a coupé. And, thanks to a new version of AIRSCARF – Mercedes’ brilliant neck-warming system – along with a clever AIRCAP automatic wind deflector, it will be more comfortable than ever to travel with the roof down. Inside, the focus will be on even more luxurious materials, including soft leather for the sports seats. Safety kit will incorporate drowsiness detection and adaptive cruise control.

The rear-wheel-drive chassis will be carried over from the current car, but tweaked to give a more comfortable ride and sharper steering. Power is set to come from a range of four and six-cylinder petrol engines, with the flagship AMG model likely to feature a 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo producing in excess of 400bhp. There will also be a diesel for the first time, and a baby version of the SLS Gullwing, too.

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9 Comments

Silver Arrow

Lovely looking car...Mercedes are back on form with a proper looking Merc again!

Bit more machismo in its styling, than the previous two and all the better for it.

Make mine silver or granite colour though....

By LegioIXHispana on 27 January, 2010, 12:45pm

Big improvement.

Gone is the caricature look of the big SL/SLR, and with real meat under the hood with the option of AMG engine and chassis parts should give it some street cred.

By 3Deuce27 on 28 January, 2010, 10:53am

I'm not sure I agree with the above comments.

It looks alittle bland from some angles and it appears almost as if it doesnt know whether to be a hairdressers car or a blokes runaround.

I'm really disppointed with this angular look too on recent models. OK Merc have to make their cars appeal to younger buyers but they're trying to hard to compete with better looking models from BMW or Audi.

Admittedly though the AMG version of the new SLK, I'm sure will be stunning.

By gbrguy24 on 28 January, 2010, 1:10pm

I take on board some of the comments, but I have to say that car looks very nice from all angles shown. I fancy it in white.

By derekwormald on 28 January, 2010, 4:56pm

I take on board some of the comments, but I have to say that car looks very nice from all angles shown. I fancy it in white.

By derekwormald on 28 January, 2010, 4:56pm

gbrguy24 is way off base!

Mercedes is trying to hard to compete with better looking BMW's, you can't be serious. You would compare the looks of a 7 with a S sedan, and prefer the looks of the Bangleized 7? Not a chance. The new MB E class is surely better looking than the 5. BMW doesn't have a car to compare with the SL unless you want to talk about the 6 convertible that looks terrible with the top up. The MB "c" is better looking than the 3 series. This doesn't mean I don't prefer the 3. So maybe the Z4 is better looking than the SLK and while the MB trucks look OK (except the ML) I prefer the x5. How can you be sure you will like the AMG version that hasn't come out yet?

By jasco9910 on 28 January, 2010, 4:57pm

SLK too bland

As an owner of the first of then new 2005 series SLK and now a face-lift 2008 model, I think this new model has an ugly up-right grille / bonnet. They ruined the SL with this new style and now the handsome SLK will blubber up too!

Looks like I will have to go to the default Boxster S next, eevn though it has a fabric hood.

By scundy on 28 January, 2010, 7:04pm

The SLK is still naff!

Mercedes SLK, Audi TT, BMW Z4 all share the same image! Hairdresser's Cars! Not Cool! Rather buy an ALPINA / BMW 2dr Coupe, Alfa Romeo Brera anyday!

By JTravolta77 on 11 October, 2010, 11:01pm

Only as a second car?

I very nearly bought an SLK for my wife. She had seen one she thought she would like, so I thought I would be a smarty-pants and buy it for her...

Great! Good test run, I would have chosen a bigger motor, but my wife wanted it as a cruiser, so the 200K was the right choice...blah, blah. blah...

To clinch the deal, I suppose, the sales-lady wanted me to see the boot with the top stashed inside. There isn't one, almost. Two men might have been able to use it as a weekend break car, but a mixed couple would have needed to have the roof up for the outward and return journeys, wrecking the fun aspect any sports drop-head must have. No sale! I was saved by the skin of my teeth, my wife keeps her BMW E30 drop-head, which our daughter doesn't get, leaving her with the Metro her "ex" bought for her. Buying your current squeeze an automatic Metro must be the most sure-fire way ever of becoming the next "ex"...

Does this "new" model have enough new panels to eke out a bit more storage? Does the roof take less room? is the car 20cm longer?

Or is it another lashed-up revision of an existing model?

By ThatOne on 14 October, 2010, 11:37am

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Mercedes SLK
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