2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK Sports Car with Convertible Hardtop
The first generation Mercedes-Benz SLK created something of a sensation when it appeared back in 1997. Part of the reason was that for a Mercedes sports car it was very compact, but the most notable feature was its retractable hardtop roof. Here at last was a small sports car that combined all the benefits of a closed coupe with those of a fully open car.
The car was a success right from the start and I still remember the hullabaloo it created during the world media launch - in Tuscany, as it happened. Stop and fold down the roof in any village square in the region and you’d draw a crowd that would do credit to a local soccer game. It really was that fascinating, even if Ford pioneered this concept as far back as 1957 with its Skyliner. It’s surprising that we had to wait 40 years for a “Skyliner successor” but that fifties Ford never was a hot seller so no automaker jumped on whatever “bandwagon” existed. Today, convertible hardtops are widely popular and there’s a long list of products out there now.
A second generation SLK bowed in 2004 and for 2008, Mercedes launched an extensively re-worked version with a variety of engineering upgrades and some styling enhancements.
For 2012 Mercedes-Benz is introducing an all-new, third-generation SLK and it’s the most stunning effort so far. If anything, the car looks a lot like the exotic and expensive SLS AMG with its long hood and bodywork accents that harken back to the 1950s when the great 300SL ruled the roads. It seems to have lost the stubby look of its predecessors and become sleeker and more aggressive. It’s a superb looking automobile by any standards and for my money, easily upstages its key rival the BMW Z4 for styling. The SLK’s main competitors apart from the Z4 seem to be the Porsche Boxster, Audi TT and Nissan 370Z.
All Canadian SLKs come with an AMG styling package with some add-on aerodynamic aids and alloy wheels specific to Mercedes’ famed performance division. The cars also include an AMG dynamic handling package, which certainly helps agility and poise. The car could easily have been driven well in excess of Alberta’s (quite generous) speed limits on the winding Rocky Mountain roads, but I resisted the temptation. Certainly it’s a delight to drive and is safe enough to make any driver feel like Michael Schumacher.
I drove the new SLK from Calgary to Jasper via Banff and then on to Edmonton, so there was a whole variety of different road conditions and altitudes. The weather varied from brilliantly sunny to heavy rain, so the convertible top spent lots of time deploying and re-deploying. It’s a flawlessly-designed system of motors and servos and it’s still a mystery to me how the SLK manages to stow away its roof and still leave room for luggage.
The roof is fitted with Mercedes’ “Magic Sky” panoramic glazed panel system which can be switched from “light” to “shade” at the press of a button. This works well, because many drivers will want to drive with the top up in, say, humid weather, but would still like some light above their heads. It’s all achieved electronically by particles within the glass - there are no mechanical components at all.
Power is supplied by an all-new 3.5-litre direct injection V-6 engine with 302-horsepower, more than enough to make this a pretty fast car. The SLK is the first product in the Mercedes-Benz range to get this new engine - other models will no doubt follow. The power unit is 10 per cent more economical than the V-6 in the second generation car. Other engines will be available later, including a 4-cylinder with a manual transmission which should be the entry-level SLK. The transmission is one of M-B’s excellent 7-speed 7G-TRONIC units with manual override. The shifts are so fast, there’s no way you could get the job done quicker with a manual box.
The new SLK follows what is now an established tradition by Mercedes-Benz to make available a reasonably-priced, fast, agile, hardtop convertible sports car that’s a lot easier to own than other open performance cars in the automaker’s lineup. It could well be the best-selling SLK yet and it will certainly keep its competitors on their toes.