When you have the money and want to show it to the world. you have many options. Buy expensive, flashy stuff that makes people a) admire you or b) envy you. When it comes to cars, there are certain cars that are a must have if you want to show off. The roadster is one of the best example of cars of such a car. Most roadsters seat only two, have moderate-high power engines and may or may not have a collapsible roof. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG is one crazy roadster which has the style and exclusivity for you to flaunt and the performance for you to gloat about, and it has been launched in India.
Price
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG is priced at Rs. 1.26 Crore, ex-showroom Delhi
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG will be brought to India via the CBU (completely built unit) route, it is manufactured at Mercedes’s Bremen factory in Germany.
The SLK-class from Mercedes-Benz is no stranger to India, the SLK 350 BlueEFFICIENCY variant with the 302 BHP @ 6500 rpm / 370 Nm @3500 rpm, 3.5-litre V6 engine has been on sale in India since 2012. It along with the 2014 BMW Z4 and the Porsche Boxter are the only roadster available in that price range in India. The 2014 BMW Z4 stole the show from its competition when it offered a much better package in terms of performance for a much lesser price than its competition. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG is Mercedes’s answer to that problem.
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG gets the AMG styling package which means it looks more aggressive than the standard car which in itself looks pretty sporty. “Black adds to sportiness” seems to be the motto, so you get blacked out headlights, a prominent grille with the huge three-pointed star logo with blacked out elements, 10-spoke black alloy wheels, a new front bumper with a blacked out diffuser, new LED daytime running lamps, blackened roll-hoops, two twin-pie exhausts etc.
The SLK 55 AMG like most cars from the performance car maker’s stable is not meant to be a precision-oriented sports car, it is a hooligan. The SLK 55 AMG is powered by a 5.5-litre (hence the ’55’ name-tag) 422 BHP @6800 rpm / 540 Nm @ 4500 rpm naturally aspirated V8 engine. It dwarfs the competition in terms of engine performance but all this power also means that it would be difficult to lay all that power down if you ever decide to drive the car with the ESP switched off. Though the SLk 55 AMG comes shod with 255 mm tyres at the rear, there is enough grunt from the engine to make it lose traction.
Power from the monstrous engine is transmitted to the rear wheels via a 7-speed AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic system. You can let the system change the gears yourself or take over control via paddle-shifts behind the steering wheel. Mercedes-Benz claims that the SLK 55 AMG can accelerate from standstill to 100 KMPH in 4.5 seconds (the 350 does it in 5.6 seconds), with gearshifts taking just .1 seconds.
With this launch, the Mercedes-Benz SLK AMG is the most powerful roadster on sale in India, it is also the most expensive. For those who want a precision-driving experience from their top-down car, we suggest you go for the Porsche Boxter but for those who want to be turned on every time they drive, the SLK 55 AMG is a good choice.
What do you think of the car? Let us know in the comments section below.
Specifications
- L x W x H in mm: 4145 x 2007 x 1300
- Wheelbase in mm: 2431
- Seating : 2
- Luggage space: 286 litres
- Engine: Naturally aspirated 5.5-litre V8. 422 BHP @6800 rpm / 540 Nm @ 4500 rpm
- Transmission: 7-speed automatic, with manual over-ride
- Driven wheels: Rear
- Wheels: 18-inch alloys, front and rear
- Tyres: 235 mm section tyres at front, 255 mm section tyres at the rear
Photo Gallery
