1999 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class Review

After decades, we finally get a genuine sports car from Mercedes-Benz. Here's an exclusive report: Called the SLK, the sexy new two-seater is the first pure sports car from Mercedes since it stopped selling its 300SL convertible in 1963--despite the automaker's rich racing and sports car heritage.

The made-in-Germany SLK hits U.S. showrooms as a 1998 model in February--aimed at the hearts and wallets of much younger buyers than Mercedes usually sees for its two-seaters.

The 143-m.p.h. car's price will be about $40,000, which is approximately half the price of the lowest-priced 1996 Mercedes SL two-seat models.

Total worldwide SLK production next year is scheduled at 35,000 units, of which about 6,000 will be sent to the United States, said Jurgen Hubbert, head of the Mercedes passenger car division, at the recent SLK media introduction here. The United States will be the SLK's largest export market.

The supercharged, 191-horsepower SLK looks much like the larger, costlier SL models, which go as high as $122,000. It even has a fully automatic retracting metal hardtop. The cockpit is roomy and trunk space is good.

There's acceptable, but hardly generous, cargo room when the hardtop is lowered and tucked out of sight in the trunk area.

The SLK turns heads, with its sporty, muscular shape and items such as the ``power domes'' on the hood, which were on the legendary Mercedes 300SL models.

The car has superb acceleration and handling with its strong engine and race-style suspension, I found while extensively testing it on winding roads and high-speed expressways near here--besides on Florence's congested streets.

Although the 157.3-inch-long SLK is short and weighs just under 3,000 pounds, the rear-drive car feels rock-solid and has a supple ride. Mercedes always has been big on safety, so the new model features standard dash- and door-mounted air bags, traction control, anti-lock brakes and dual integrated rollover bars. The well-equipped car has few options, one of which is heated seats.

The SLK--a name that, in German, stands for ``sporty, light and short''--zips from 0-60 m.p.h. in 7.5 seconds. Mercedes is worried some may bypass the car because it doesn't have a six-cylinder--although the 2.3-liter engine has dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder and feels like a six.

``We'll have to get people opposed to a four-cylinder--which helps handling and economy--into the SLK to show them how it performs,'' said Mercedes spokesman Chuck Johnsen.

Too bad the slick five-speed manual transmission in one of the SLKs I drove won't be offered in the United States--at least not for a year or so. After all, this is a sports car. Standard will be a five-speed automatic, which shifts so smoothly and quickly that the car is said to be a bit faster with it than with the manual.

In any case, Mercedes wants to improve the manual's shift action. And it isn't happy about the somewhat raspy sound of the exhaust with the automatic--something that also might be worked on before the SLK goes on sale in Europe in September.

Colors include an eye-popping ``Sunburst'' yellow and a brilliant ``Bahama'' blue. The comfortable interior mixes neo-retro gauges--which look as if they might have been yanked from a classic Mercedes racer--with modern carbon-fiber-like veneer on the console.

Since 1963, Mercedes has offered a series of progressively costly ``SL'' two-seaters that really just have been luxurious high-speed cruisers for older, affluent folks. It left the pure sports cars to automakers such as Porsche because the cruisers more fit its upscale image.

However, with BMW's new Z3 sports car already a big hit and Porsche's new Boxster two-seater waiting in the wings, the SLK will step into the U.S. market with guns blazing.

``We expect sales to be evenly split between males and females from 30 to 39 years of age--with an $80,000 median household income,'' said Karen Makris, the Mercedes-Benz of North America product manager for the SLK. ``We're also after loyal Mercedes owners drawn to the SLK as an additional car.''

The Boxster is expected to cost about $40,000 when it reaches the United States in January. The non-supercharged four-cylinder Z3 costs about $29,000, but a faster six-cylinder version meant to battle the SLK and Boxster is expected to be much costlier.

Of the three, only the SLK will possess the venerable Mercedes nameplate. And Mercedes figures it might well be short of SLKs in the United States for at least two years.