Benz Faqs

Mercedes has given the 2009 SLK a makeover to remember. The new model – which has been given better mechanical features, a nicer interior, and brand new styling for the front and rear end of the vehicle – will be debuted at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show.

The 3.5-liter V6 in the SLK350 gets a boost in output to 305 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy is improved with both the six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic gearboxes. The supercharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine in the SLK200 Kompressor receives a bump to 184 hp and 184 lb-ft. But the 5.5-liter V8 in the SLK55 AMG is carried over with no major changes.

Mercedes has decided to make a change for the SL in time for the 2009 model year. The prototype for the new vehicle, which under went only minor changes, was seen test driving near the Arctic Circle. The grille at the front of the vehicle is wider and has been given a crosshair design with a mesh background.

Although the lights are covered, it’s clear they will employ a more rectangular shape than the current model’s dual-lens look. A deeper airdam is visible as well, although it appears unfinished so we don’t expect the final product to look exactly the same. Changes to the rear end appear limited to a new taillight design as the rest of the bodywork looks identical to the current SL65 AMG.

In 1999, Mercedes-Benz gave us two amazing “Vision SLR” supercar concepts. One had a roof and the other was a convertible. The Vision SLR coupe eventually became the incredibly fast and stratospherically priced SLR McLaren coupe, which Mercedes-Benz builds with racing partner McLaren Cars. After four years Mercedes-Benz and McLaren are finally giving their SLR coupe a droptop playmate, to be called the SLR McLaren roadster.

Spied in the Canary Islands on a photo shoot, this prototype of the top-secret roadster will become one of only a handful of droptops ever to break the 200-mph barrier and perhaps the fastest open-topped automobile ever sold in this country by a major manufacturer when it appears on our shores next year as a 2009 model.