The recent unveiling of the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Gullwing has been met with universal acclaim, so much so that talks of future Mercedes models being modeled after the car has began to circulate in and around a number of auto circles.
While nothing has been confirmed, it hasn’t stopped people from speculating as to whether the rumors have any weight on them. One car that’s been the subject of this constant speculation has been the next-generation Mercedes-Benz SLK, the brand’s ultra-chic compact hardtop-roadster. According to some people, the new SLK will bear styling similarities to that of the SLS AMG Gullwing and some others have – think creative visual artists – even gone to greath lengths to create a rendering of what they expect the new SLK will look like.
One such artist that has created his own take on the new SLK is Theophilus Chin with his work already being touted as a ‘mini SLS AMG Roadster’. Check out the photos and see for yourself Chin’s take on what the new SLK would look like.
The future Mercedes Benz SLK has been caught on video. Set to be officially unveiled in 2012, the new SLK will be powered by both naturally aspirated and turbocharged gas burning engines and also a new turbo diesel unit. The AMG version will get an all new twin turbo 3.5 Liter V6 pumping out 470 HP in the compact roadster.
The German luxury automaker, Mercedes Benz, has recently been spotted running laps around the Nurburgring in what appears to be the next generation SLK roadster heavily clad in automotive camouflage. With BMW coming out with the new Z4 roadster, it is very likely that the tri star company is ready to defend their position in the fun to drive small car segment with a new drop top SLK. The Mercedes Benz test engineers do an excellent job of disguising the SLK’s lines with the large panel over the hood amongst other tricks. The front end is much more squared off than the production model will be, as you can see by the driving lights hidden behind the holes in the faux front bumper.
Under the hood Mercedes will use their naturally aspirated gas burning V6 engine along with a range of smaller displacement turbocharged units. There are also rumors about a diesel engine to be used for the first time in the small runabout. Gone is the oversized hand built V8 and instead the AMG version will be powered by a 3.5 Liter twin turbo V6 that will put out somewhere around 470 HP.
This compact sports car ushered in the era of the hard top convertible, so what does Mercedes Benz have planned for the next generation of the SLK roadster? While we are still just speculating about the future equipment, it is not hard to dream about a fuel efficient green sports car derived from the lightweight open air two seat roadster. If diesel is becoming a possibility as an alternative fuel, it can’t be long before the German automaker begins playing around with electric propulsion.
Expression Motorsport has developed three distinctive takes on the Mercedes Benz compact sports coupe, the SLK. The most aggressive being the R-Kit. Inspired by the SLR supercar, the body kit adds muscular attitude to the elegant Mercedes shape.
Mercedes is rumored to be working on diesel and hybrid versions of the next SLK, so maybe its one those engine that tried to catch fire in this picture. Sure it may seem odd that this Merc had smoke coming out of the engine before completing one lap at the Nurburgring, but that’s exactly why test mules exist. Because this happened out testing, the same situation will likely not happen to any of Mercedes’ demanding customers.
The 2010 SLK will come with a new design including bigger front grille, LED running lights, and now possibly a fire extinguisher.
The German tuners at Piecha Design go for the little touches with the Mercedes Benz SLK. This includes the “Intermedia” power converter, which replaces the senor underneath the gas pedal with the adjustable unit that improves acceleration. Also, the “Comfort Vario” roof module allows the hard top to be raised and lowered at speeds of up to 37 MPH.
Mercedes can’t seem to keep its future sports cars under wraps. Not only have we seen a lot of spy shots and new info on the future SLS (formerly SLC), but now we’ve got one of the smaller, more afforadable future SLK.
When the new SLK hits the market in 2012, it will likely get a design updated to look more like the latest Mercedes family line. This should include a flatter grille like the one from the SL, and LED lights will be integrated into the lower half of the front bumper.
Some of the biggest news may be in the engine bay where Mercedes may offer an oil burner for the hardtop convertible. If given the green light, the likely candidate would be the 2.2-liter diesel unit already in service in the E-Class and C250. The engine produces 202 hp and 368b ft of torque, which could give this SLK a 0 to 60 mph time of about six seconds.
No word yet if the U.S. will be included in the new diesel SLK, but considering North America’s fear of diesel and love of power, we may just keep the 3.0-liter 224 hp gas engine for the base model.
Mercedes revealed today at the Geneva Motor Show the special edition SLK 2LOOK, a model offered in either black or white colors. The special edition can be ordered with immediate effect in the engine variants SLK 200 KOMPRESSOR, SLK 300 and SLK 350 Sports Engine and adds an extra cost of 2100 euro. It will be limited to to 300 vehicles worldwide.
The SLK 2LOOK Edition is painted in either obsidian black metallic or the special finish designo mystic white and features 18 inch 5-twin-spoke light-alloy wheels, discreet emblems on the wings.
The same contrasting black-and-white color scheme continues in the interior: sports seats in nappa leather – with the seat center panels in white and the contoured bolsters in black, the doors and center armrest are also in a contrasting black-and-white scheme.
Often times in their quest to transform a production car from stock, tuning companies end up overdoing it and produce cars that are just expensively ugly. There are times however when an example or two come away from a tuner without the appearance of trying too hard. One such example is the Väth V58K, an extreme interpretation of the Mercedes Benz SLK 55 AMG.
The German tuners deemed the 5.4-liter naturally aspirated engine found in the SLK 55 AMG to be insufficient for their needs. So they increased displacement to 5.8-liters and added a supercharger raising power from 360hp (269kW) to 560hp (421kW) and raising torque from 377lb-ft (510Nm) to 569lb-ft (770Nm). All this added power is enough to enable the car to sprint from 0-60 MPH (0-100km/h) in around 4 seconds. Only one second behind the Porsche911 Turbo Cabriolet, and down from the 4.9 seconds that it takes the stock SLK 55 AMG. The car is now capable of achieving a maximum speed of 186mph (300km/h) an improvement over the electronically limited 155 MPH that comes from the factory.
Mercedes may be going smaller with the gullwing. We’ve already seen plenty of spy shots and renderings of the upcoming SLC, but now we’re hearing rumors about a smaller SLK-sized gullwing sports car. But this little flyer has a twist, it will be a gas/electric hybrid.
So what would prompt Mercedes to make a smaller gullwing car? Could it be the initial buzz about the SLC that would make it want to have a more affordable vertical-door car? Actually no. The gullwing design allows the car to have a higher door line (like on the original 300 SL) so that it can hide some of the batteries for the green technology. This will help keep some weighty items in the middle of the car and less likely to effect handling.
An ideal set up for this car would include the 3.5-liter V6, which currently makes 305 hp in the SLK, combined with an F1 racing style KERS regenerative braking system. This car could have the ability to yield around 40 mpg and also provide real competition to the Porsche Cayman S and Audi TT RS.
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