Pär Brandt - 2011-01-13
____________________________________________________________________
Mercedes SLK är officiell - äntligen!
Nu har vi de officiella bilderna på Mercedes SLK. Sjustegad automat blir standard och den
fyrcylindriga SLK 250 blir riktigt kvick, jämfört med SLK 350 som gör 0-100 km/h på 5,6 sekunder.
Och så väntar vi förstås på SLK 63 AMG!
____________________________________________________________________
Nya generationen SLK får tre bensinmotoralternativ vid lanseringen, två turbofyror och en V6.
Senare i år, eller början på 2012 tillkommer SLK 250CDI med 204 hk och hela 500 Nm.
____________________________________________________________________
Det har spritts mycket material om nya generationen SLK på nätet och förra året kunde vi till exempel visa hur Mercedes egen reklamfilm -
med en riktig spelfilmshandling - halkade ut på YouTube (och senare blev indragen). Nu finns det äntligen officiella bilder och alla fakta om SLK,
som får sin publika debut på Genèvesalongen senare i vår.
Vi hittar inte längre den klassiska kompressormotorn i modellutbudet. Istället blir tre bensinalternativ som erbjuds vid introduktionen i vår:
de två fyrcylindriga, 1,8-liters turbomaskinerna SLK 200 (184 hk) och SLK 250 (204 hk) samt 3,5-liters V6:an utan överladdning, SLK 350 (306 hk).
Sjustegad 7G-Tronic automatlåda med stopp/start-funktion blir standard på alla modeller utom SLK200, som får sexväxlad manuell låda.
Bränsleförbrukningen har sjunkit på alla motorerna, jämfört med tidigare versioner. SLK 200 drar enligt EU:s NEDC-cykel 6,1 l/100 km (142 g/km),
SLK 250 behöver 6,2 l/100 km (144 g/km) och SLK 350 blygsamma 7,1 l/100 km (167 g/km).
____________________________________________________________________
Designen på nya SLK har inte varit någon hemlighet sedan reklamvideon läckte ut. Publik debut blir det på Genèvesalongen,
eller så väljer Mercedes att premiärvisa i Stuttgart om en månad när man firar sitt 125-årsjubileum.
____________________________________________________________________
Prestandasiffran 0-100 km/h säger inte allt om hur en modell upplevs, men det är ändå en tydlig indikation på hur kvick bilen är och för de tre modellerna
redovisar Mercedes 7,0 sekunder, 6,6 samt 5,6 sekunder för SLK 350. En del av förklaringen är att Mercedes jagat vikt, stora delar av takkonstruktionen är i
aluminium liksom motorhuv och framskärmar.
Vanliga stålfjädrar och stötdämpare är standard med hårdare sportfjädring som valbart tillbehör. De som både vill ha kakan och äta den kan beställa elektroniskt
justerbara stötdämpare som erbjuder både hygglig komfort och automatiskt hårdare dämpning i kombination med progressivt styrservo.
____________________________________________________________________
SLK kan beställas med den främre takhalvan i glas som elektroniskt kan reglera ljusinsläppet. Här är taket "öppet" och man ser i kupén.
Med en knapptryckning påverkas metallpartiklar i sandwichglaset av ett magnetfält, varvid både utsikten och ljusinstrålningen blockeras.
____________________________________________________________________
En ny finess från Mercedes, som man redan berättat om, är det fällbara taket som för 2.000 euro extra kan förses med "Magic Sky Control". Det innebär att
ljusinsläppet och värmestrålningen genom glaset kan regleras med en knapptryckning. Ljusgenomsläppet regleras elektriskt inne i den sandwichuppbyggda
glasskivan genom att mikroskopiska metallpartiklar i en gel ändrar position när de utsätts för ett magnetfält. Utan spänning ligger partiklarna i ett virrvarr och
släpper knappt igenom något ljus. När sedan magnetfältet aktiveras, radar de upp sig lodrätt och taket blir nästan helt transparent. Låter som namnet - magiskt!
Sent under året eller i början av 2012 kan vi förvänta oss ytterligare två motorer till SLK. Mercedes följer Audis idé med TT:n och lägger till ett dieselalternativ,
SLK 250 CDI. Det blir en 2,1-liters dieselfyra med dubbelturbo som ger 204 hk och 500 Nm samt en sannolikt mycket angenäm bränsleförbrukning.
____________________________________________________________________
De Mercedesägare som sätter sig i nya SLK får ingen chock, det mesta är välbekant när det gäller design och ergonomi
____________________________________________________________________
Toppmodellen blir förstås SLK AMG och där har vi tidigare gissat på en V6:a med dubbelturbo. Men de senaste uppgifterna pekar istället på en sugmotorversion
av AMG:s dubbelturbo-V8 på 5,5 liter. Utan överladdning sägs toppeffekten blir runt 420 hk och med hjälp av olika tekniska finesser - där man bland annat kan
stänga av fyra cylindrar - ska förbrukningen kunna hållas på en måttlig nivå. En av våra kära läsare, signaturen "Insatt" vet med säkerhet att modellen ska heta
SLK 63 AMG och IP-adressen får oss att tro på den informationen - tack!
Nya SLK kan beställa i Tyskland från och med 17 januari och priserna är, inklusive moms är som följer:
SLK 200 BlueEFFICIENCY: 38.675 euro
SLK 250 BlueEFFICIENCY: 44.256 euro
SLK 350 BlueEFFICIENCY: 52.300.50 euro.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Stuttgart, Jan 13, 2011
____________________________________________________________________
The new Mercedes-Benz SLK Roadster: Passion meets efficiency
Stuttgart – With the completely newly developed SLK, one of the most exciting and successful sports cars ever
built is entering its third generation. The new roadster uncompromisingly takes driving pleasure and open-air
enjoyment to a new level. It blends light-footed sportiness with stylish comfort, a striking sports-car design
with total suitability for everyday use, top performance with exemplary ecology. What’s more, the SLK is proud
to present the world premiere of the panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL, which switches to light or
dark at the touch of a button. Exemplary efficiency and sporty flair come courtesy of powerful new 4- and
6-cylinder engines featuring the standard-specification ECO start/stop function. With their superb levels of
performance they are up to 25 percent more economical than their predecessors. And a unique set of safety
equipment bestows role-model status on the SLK in this segment. With its wealth of technical innovations the
SLK is once again the benchmark in its class.
____________________________________________________________________
“The new SLK embodies the role of the trend-setter like no other car”, says Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and
Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “I am convinced that with its passionate design, its high-quality interior and its modesty at the filling station it will continue
to provide an enormous amount of fun on the road in future, too, consolidating its status as a cult roadster.”
Innovations are part of the successful history of the Mercedes-Benz SLK:
* In 1996 the first generation caused a furore with the vario-roof, which transformed the wide-open roadster into a coupé with a fixed roof at the touch
of a button in just a few seconds
* The second generation placed the warm AIRSCARF around the neck and shoulders of the occupants as needed, ensuring pleasurable open-top motoring
even in cooler temperatures
* Now the third generation is presenting one of its unique highlights – the world premiere of the panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL.
It can be quickly switched to light or dark at the press of a button
But the new Mercedes-Benz SLK offers more than merely individual highlights. It assumes a leading position in every discipline and offers fun at
the wheel in every respect, with no half-hearted compromises. It impresses with characteristics which are generally deemed to be irreconcilable:
it succeeds in uniting excellent comfort and high-quality equipment and appointments with a decidedly sporty flair, for instance. At the same time
the new roadster is the most economical and thus the most environmentally friendly in its class, also setting new safety standards. And all-weather
driving enjoyment – open and closed, in leisure-time and everyday use – is firmly anchored in the SLK’s genes.
Timeless aesthetics embodies hallmark sports-car sensuality
The designers have tailor-made a body for the new SLK which emphasises its classic roadster proportions and puts them in the spotlight to thrilling effect.
Behind the long bonnet is a compact passenger compartment positioned far back, and a short tail end. The SLK will tempt potential customers with the
key attributes that characterise all the classic roadsters from Mercedes-Benz and that have also made many of them automotive icons of the brand.
The first feature to catch the eye is an upright radiator grille that stands proud and confident in the wind and bears the new Mercedes-Benz brand look.
It facilitates the long and well-proportioned bonnet and with its rearward light-catching contours it already hints at the roadster’s dynamic qualities.
The wide radiator grille bears the Mercedes-Benz star in a prominent central position and displays a powerfully contoured fin, chromed at the front.
The clearly defined headlamps complete the look for the new SLK’s face, which resembles that of the legendary 190 SL from the 1950s, which is
regarded by many as being the original “SLK”. But it was certainly not just the past that the designers were focusing on; with the new SLK’s front
end they also intentionally created a close visual link with the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG “gullwing model” and the new CLS.
The amazing and measurable proof of the meticulously detailed work that has been carried out is that in spite of the more striking, steeper front and
the larger frontal area, the Cd value has been cut to just 0.30 – a brilliant achievement (the predecessor model’s Cd value was 0.32).
The timelessly classic shape of the side view with the classic roadster proportions embodies aesthetics of the highest calibre and is a visual
promise of the sporti-ness and driving pleasure in store. Fine details and quotes show the care that has been taken by the Mercedes-Benz designers.
For example, a fillet conceals the boot joint, so that the side line cannot get in the way, as it usually does with similar roof designs. The ventilation
grilles in the front wings with a chromed fin are reminiscent of the famous Mercedes-Benz roadsters of the 1950s. In the new SLK they form the
perfect starting point for a feature line which flows to the muscular rear wing, using light and shadow to add style and timeless aesthetics to the
sides. Meanwhile the upper edge of the wide headlamps – which boast all-LED technology for the first time – also appears to flow into the feature line.
Interior with style and puristic good looks
With the most compact dimensions in its class, the new SLK has an interior whose generous size is exemplary. To achieve this, the designers have
developed interior appointments which offer the driver and passenger the highest degree of perfect perceived quality and puristic precision.
The interior is characterised by stylish sportiness and high-quality, authentic materials which have been processed with perfect precision and skilled
craftsmanship. Even in the base version the centre console and other trim parts gleam in brushed aluminium. Wood can be selected as an option in
high-gloss dark brown walnut or high-gloss black ash. Four round, galvanised air outlets integrated in the dashboard emphasise that this model
well and truly belongs to the Mercedes-Benz sports car family, their shape being a nod to those in the SLS.
The SLK’s generous round dials are flanked by a display for the information generated by the online computer. The colour display for the
communications and entertainment functions is housed in the centre of the dashboard, and can be easily read by both the driver and passenger.
On the top of the dashboard, also in the centre, sits a fine analogue clock – an unusual detail which subtly underlines the roadster’s stylish character.
Other high-quality items of equipment include a multifunction sports steering wheel with a flattened bottom section and a thick leather crown,
plus optional sun-reflecting leather which noticeably reduces the degree to which the surfaces it covers heat up, impressive ambient lighting
and the innovative neck-level heating system AIRSCARF, familiar from the predecessor.
Unique item of equipment: MAGIC SKY CONTROL
For the first time Mercedes-Benz is offering a choice of three variants of the lightweight-construction vario-roof for the new SLK: In just a few
seconds this feature transforms the roadster into a coupé with a “fixed” roof at the touch of a button – and vice versa:
* The base version is a roof painted in the vehicle colour
* Alternatively there is the option of a panoramic vario-roof with dark-tinted windows
* The third variant is a world premiere – the panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL. This glass roof switches to light or dark as you wish
at the press of a button. When light it is virtually transparent, offering an open-air experience even in cold weather. In its dark state the roof
provides welcome shade and prevents the interior from heating up when the sun’s rays are very intense. In other words: a feel-good atmosphere
at the touch of a button
Innovative draught-stop system AIRGUIDE
A comfortable alternative to the conventional draught-stop is a new pivoting draught-stop for the new SLK which has been invented by Mercedes-Benz
aerodynamics engineers. It consists of pivoting transparent plastic layers which are attached to the reverse of the roll-over bars. The driver or
passenger can swing them to the centre of the vehicle in a flash, thus taming turbulent air flow.
Spirit and efficiency
There will initially be three models of the SLK available at its market launch, all of them powered by new engines with direct injection. The four-cylinder
engines in the SLK 200 BlueEFFICIENCY and SLK 250 BlueEFFICIENCY develop 135 kW (184 hp) and 150 kW (204 hp) respectively from a
displacement of 1796 cubic centimetres. The SLK 200 BlueEFFICIENCY is the most economical roadster in its segment. With the enhanced, optional
seven-speed automatic transmission 7G‑TRONIC PLUS it consumes just 6.1 litres of premium petrol (NEDC, combined) over 100 kilometres
(that corresponds to 142 g of CO2 per kilometre). The frugal model sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.0 seconds, and achieves its top speed at 237 km/h
(240 km/h with manual transmission).
The SLK 250 BlueEFFICIENCY is equipped as standard with the 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission and consumes only 6.2 litres (NEDC, combined)
over 100 kilometres (144 g of CO2 per kilometre). From a standstill it reaches 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds, and it has a top speed of 243 km/h.
The V6 engine in the SLK 350 BlueEFFICIENCY draws 225 kW (306 hp) from its 3498 cubic-centimetre displacement, using this power to accelerate in
5.6 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h (top speed 250 km/h). Its consumption is 7.1 litres (NEDC, combined) over 100 kilometres (167 g of CO2 per kilometre).
The V6 engine has been completely newly developed. Its most important hallmarks are its 3rd-generation direct injection, piezo injectors and
multi-spark ignition.
The exemplary efficiency, with fuel consumption reduced by up to a quarter compared with the predecessor models, is also due to the ECO start/stop
system which is fitted as part of the standard specification in all models.
Suspension for the closest link with the road
There are also three suspension versions to choose from:
* A conventional steel suspension comes as standard
* A sports suspension with harder springs and dampers ensures a systematically sporty driving experience
* As an alternative a Dynamic Handling package is available. Its merits include a suspension with continuous adjustable damping.
It has an electronically controlled fully automatic damping system, so the vehicle rolls away gently even on poor road surfaces, but still offers
high driving dynamics
Also included in the Dynamic Handling package are a Direct-Steer system and the Torque Vectoring Brakes developed by Mercedes-Benz.
The Direct-Steer system offers more handling and agility than the standard steering, whilst also reducing the amount of physical effort required
when parking. In critical conditions the Torque Vectoring Brakes produce a defined rotational movement of the vehicle about the vertical axis in
fractions of seconds through selective brake actuation at the rear wheel on the inside of the bend. This results in the SLK stabilising without any
compromises where dynamism is concerned, and it steers into the bend precisely and under full control.
Ingenious material mix and high levels of safety
The new SLK’s bodyshell structure has been further refined, with the bonnet and wings now made of aluminium.
The new Mercedes-Benz SLK also sets new benchmarks in terms of safety. The third generation of the powerful trend-setter will make use
of a whole host of the latest assistance systems to support the driver, including the drowsiness detection system ATTENTION ASSIST,
developed by Mercedes-Benz and fitted as standard; the optional anticipatory occupant protection system PRE-SAFE®, which is unique in the world;
and the PRE-SAFE® Brake, which can apply the brakes autonomously in the event of an impending rear-end collision. As such, with the SLK too
Mercedes-Benz is consistently and significantly exceeding the requirements imposed by safety standards.
Those wishing to do so can extend the host of assistance systems in the new SLK even further:
* The Intelligent Light System provides five lighting functions (cornering light function, country mode, motorway mode, active light function and
enhanced fog lamps), which are activated depending on the driving conditions
* The Speed Limit Assist is able to detect speed limit signs using a camera on the inside of the windscreen and indicate the respective detected
speed limit on a display in the instrument cluster
The new SLK can be ordered from 17 January 2011. The prices including VAT are as follows:
SLK 200 BlueEFFICIENCY: 38,675 euros,
SLK 250 BlueEFFICIENCY: 44,256.10 euros,
SLK 350 BlueEFFICIENCY: 52,300.50 euros.
To mark the launch of the new SLK, Mercedes-Benz is offering an “Edition 1” special model with the special paint finish SHAPE in glacier grey.
The “Edition 1” is opulently appointed and its standard specification includes the panoramic vario-roof, the Dynamic Handling package,
AMG bodystyling, two-tone designo nappa leather with contrasting topstitching, AIRSCARF, ambient lighting and more. The additional charges range
from 8490 to 8990 euros, depending on the base model.
____________________________________________________________________
