2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK Debuts

Mercedes' SLK Roadster was a trendsetter when it first popped out way back in 1996. Up until then, "convertible" had traditionally meant "floppy cloth roof, lots of road noise, and easy to steal stuff out of."  The SLK's slick two-piece electric folding hardtop wasn't technically the first of it's kind on the market (that honor goes to the 1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder, with it's ASC-design top), but it was the car that popularized the folding-hardtop idea that almost every brand is copying now.  To continue the SLK's tradition of standing out, Mercedes has redesigned their smallest two-seater and gave it a load of new features to keep it fresh.

Styling wise, the new SLK is fairly predictable.  The littlest Benz roadster has always taken styling inspiration from M-B's halo car at the time.  The original (R170) SLK shared a lot of styling cues with the iconic R129 (1989+) SL-class, and the new model (R171) that followed in 2004 mimicked the new SL, and later the SLR McLaren with it's facelift.  The new SLK (R172) takes most of it's design inspiration from Merc's gullwinged-wonder, the SLS AMG.

Personally, I think the styling is a bit too conservative to the point of anonymity - although in press-car red, it's still hard to miss.  Not to complain-  it's entirely possible Merc could've gone too far in the other direction and made it strange looking, but as it is there's a certain purposeful, muscular stance to the car.  In the interest of weight savings, the hood and fenders are now constructed out of aluminum.

Obviously, the slick folding roof remains, but there are some new goodies to keep the pampered owners happy.  Biggest news on the R172 SLK is what Mercedes calls MAGIC SKY CONTROL.  It's basically an electronically-tinting glass roof that can go from clear to darkly tinted at the touch of a button.  Of course, it's an option, and your other choices are a body-color painted roof, or a fixed-tint glass roof as well.  Ferrari used this technology in the 575 Superamerica a few years back, and it's one of the cooler party tricks out there.

Other goodies coming to the R172 to make the ride more pleasant include AIRGUIDE, which is a pivoting wind-stop mounted behind the roll bars to cut down on top-down interior turbulence, the headlights have LED running lights, the AIRSCARF neck-warmer is revised, and there are specially treated leather seats that retain less heat from sunlight - which is a cool touch!  Other comfort features include a flat-bottom leather-wrapped steering wheel, a bright color display in the center of the dash, steering wheel controls, and other typical luxury accoutrement for this class.

The R172 gets two new engines to go with the new body.  The base model, now called the SLK250, replaces the 3.0L V6-powered SLK280 of the previous generation.  With a 1.8L turbocharged direct injected I4, it's 201 horsepower doesn't sound like much (especially compared with the SLK280's 230 horses) but it will still net an impressive 6.5 second 0-60 time and 155 flat-out, all while returning 27mph combined.  The SLK250 will have a 6-speed manual transmission standard, thankfully.

A major step up from the SLK250 will be the SLK350, which uses a derivative of the previous car's engine.  Still a 3.5L V6, the new motor now features direct gas injection with piezo injectors, and twin-spark heads.  Power is up 30bhp, from 272 to 302bhp, and it's noticeably quicker than the 250: it's 5.4s 0-60 time is more than a second quick.  Fuel consumption is estimated at 23mpg combined for the SLK350.  It remains to be seen if there will be an AMG variant of the new SLK, and what motor it will use.  Suspension-wise, the SLK gets (according to the press release) "firmer springs and dampers" as well as a torque-vectoring effect via the brakes on the rear axle, which helps keep the SLK pointed in the direction you aim it.

The new SLK will make it's official debut in Stuttgart for the brand's 125 birthday soon, and the public will get it's first look at the R172 at the Geneva Auto Show in March.  You won't have to wait long for one, though: the 2012 SLK will go on sale at your local Mercedes-Benz dealer in summer 2011.