Mercedes Benz Announces Super-SLK55
When Carroll Shelby crammed a 289 cubic-inch Ford V8 into a miniscule British roadster, people called him crazy. Going a step further and dropping the 427 cubic inch Ford motor into the same car confirmed it. With over 450 horsepower at the wheels, lighting the fuse on one of these ultra-short wheelbase rockets was a frightening experience. But one can’t help but wonder; what would a modern-day 427 Cobra look like?
This; the new special series of Mercedes Benz SLK55. In normal Mercedes-Benz form, the SLK is a tame convertible powered by the buyer’s choice of either a 2.8- or 3.5-litre V6; the larger of which maxes out at a respectable although hardly earthshaking 268 horsepower. In AMG-tuned form, the little drop-top gets a far more sporting 5.5L V8 good for 355 horsepower, and now, thanks to even more AMG wizardry, this new version of the SLK55 boasts 400 horsepower.
Conspicuously unnamed, it’s simply referred to as a “special series,” the new top-line SLK boasts some impressive engineering not belied by its lack of specialized nomenclature. Beginning with a restyled front air dam that sports an amalgam of holes, ducts, and scoops to feed the new transmission and steering fluid coolers, this new SLK is all business. Also, new carbon fibre side air outlets provide sufficient air flow through the now-larger engine oil cooler, while the front fender’s air outlets are painted black on the inside for an even more aggressive look. Oh, did we mention the fenders themselves are even wider than stock and made from carbon fibre-reinforced plastic to save weight? And don’t think that the AMG wizards stopped there, oh no. For their pièce de résistance (or more appropriately stück von resistance) they lopped the SLK’s signature folding hardtop mechanism out of the car, replacing it with a solid, non-retractable, carbon fibre-reinforced plastic panel that reduces the diminutive coupe’s weight by 45 kilograms (99 pounds). Combined with the fenders and other weight-saving devices, the purest of SLKs weighs only 1,495 kilograms (3,296 pounds), improving the power to weight ratio from 4.3 kilograms (9.5 pounds) per horsepower to only 3.7 kilograms (8.2 pounds) per horsepower.
There is, of course, another end to that ratio: the power. Displacing 5.5 litres, the V8 benefits from a new air intake and filter as well as a performance-tuned exhaust system. Combined with the AMG-tuned Speedshift 7-G-tronic transmission and lighter weight, the little musclecar sprints to 100 km/h in a mere 4.5 seconds. That’s four tenths of a second less than the standard SLK55. Getting all this power to the ground is a set of lighter AMG alloy wheels fitted with thebuyer’s choice of either mid size 235/35 ZR 19 (front) and 265/30 ZR 19 (rear) tires or specialized sport compound tires intended for occasional track use and abuse.
Combine all this with a carbon and alcantara trimmed interior, and you’ve got yourself the modern German interpretation of Shelby’s infamous 427 Cobra. With that in mind, Mercedes has yet to affix a name to this so-called “special series.” Might we suggest “Kobra?”
