Mercedes-Benz Unleashes the SLK 55 AMG

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the most powerful SLK ever: the new Mercedes Benz SLK 55 AMG. Even though most carmakers have recently tried to lower their cars’ engine displacement, Mercedes Benz is apparently ignoring this and have just announced the new SLK 55 AMG powered by a 5.5-liter engine, delivering 422 hp and 540 Nm of torque.

On the exterior, we can’t say we’re surprised by the car’s appearance. AMG engineers and designers applied their usual treatment, obviously influenced by the SLS AMG’s look. The front has a more aggressive, the air intakes have also been increased and integrate the daytime running lights and the front grille is also larger and pretty similar to the SLS. The carmaker’s supercar also influenced the vents in the front fenders and the large Mercedes logo in the front. On the rear, the diffuser beautifully integrates the double chromed exhaust tips and a small spoiler increases the car’s drag.

If some of you consider the SLK 55 AMG a small SLS, you’re not too far from the truth. Because the interior of the SLK is also heavily inspired by the SLS, with the vents inspired from the aviation industry and the entire dashboard design. The SLK 55 AMG comes with plenty of goodies as standard, but the real exciting stuff is in the optional list: manually crafted Nappa leather, AIRSCARF system or Magic Sky Control system. And for even more exclusive features, Mercedes has the AMG Performance Studio for its customers.

Under the bonnet, Mercedes is really proud of the SLK 55 AMG. First of all, the press release mentions the low CO2 emissions, 30 percent less than the previous generation’s, making the car release 195 grams of CO2 per kilometer. And a very remarkable feature is the low fuel consumption for a 5.5-liter V-8 engine, only 8.4 liters per 100 km. This was possible thanks to the AMG Cylinder Management technology with stops cylinders 2, 3, 5 and 8 when it doesn’t think they are required. The system is active between 800 and 3,600 rpm and the driver is informed whether the car is working in 4- or 8-cylinder mode. When only 4 cylinders are working, the car has an available torque of 230 Nm and it takes only 30 milliseconds for the engine to get back into 8-cylinder mode.

Coupled with the AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic gearbox, the 422 hp are delivered at 6,800 rpm and the peak torque of 540 Nm is available from 4,500 rpm. This means the new SLK 55 AMG sprints from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.6 seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *