Relieved that this 2013 Mercedes SLK55 AMG unicorn just became available. Allows me to make amends to blog reader Ken who reminded me there is another naturally aspirated AMG powerplant (in addition to the M156 I gushed about here) – the M152 variant of the M157, found in the SLK55. Ken was lucky enough to score a 2014 SLK55 from the original owner with only 22,000 kms (13,000 miles) on it. That’s right up there with this 2013 model with only 8,182 miles. Amazing only 800+ miles a year for the last 10!
The SLK55 is moderately equipped with seat heaters and the wonderful Air Scarf neck heaters, but not much else. Bluetooth, a Harman Kardon audio system and even a CD player. It is a gorgeous red color and a quick-dropping hard top convertible. I’ve had a soft top convertible (1971 Fiat 124 and a 2002 BMW 330CIC) and a hard top convertible (2013 BMW M3) and don’t think I could daily a soft top anymore.
The M152 motor is a 5.5 liter V-8 – the same block as I understand it as the twin-turbo, intercooled M157 found in the 63’s once Mercedes (as everyone did) stopped deriving their car models from the engine displacement – sans the turbos and intercoolers. Just a deep breathing V-8 that makes 415 horsepower and moves this little convertible to 60 mph in the low four second range. And hit 28 mpg on the highway.
This is a two-owner California car that sold new a decade ago for perhaps $75,000. Seems like an almost new bargain at $41,998 and MaxCare is available for another 117,000 miles and five years. Find it here in Fremont, California.
Tradition has it that “May Day was celebrated by some early European settlers of the American continent. In some parts of the United States…….small baskets usually filled with ….treats and left at someone’s doorstep. The giver rings the bell and runs away.”* That’s the best excuse I can come up with this May 1st to post this sort of small European basket filled with treats capable of a fast getaway. A bit of a stretch. A bit of a unicorn.
* Per the historical expert Wikipedia.
The 2013 Mercedes SLK55 AMG, sometimes called the Mercedes Miata, is a two-seater with a naturally aspirated V8 motor. The car was produced as the SLK from 1996 until 2015, after that it was renamed to the SLC model in accordance with Mercedes badging changes, and switched from the V8 to a six cylinder, becoming the SLC43. Only Mercedes itself knows how many SLK55’s were made – I just lost an hour reading Mercedes enthusiast forums where owners themselves are trying to track how special their cars are. The best I can tell is someone is tracking motor numbers by VIN and thinks there were around 3,500 total.
(If you want to see a bit of history, here’s the link to one of my first blog posts ever in 2017, on a 2007 SLK55 selling for $21,998. That would have been a steal – and still under MaxCare!)
The basket of treats mentioned above really includes only seat heaters, Bluetooth, rear view camera, nav, and a Harman Kardon audio system. It’s a handsome cockpit, but not opulent. Analog car like my M3.
The seats do have the very nice Mercedes Air Scarf feature, heating the neck and shoulders (or top of your head if you’re tiny). The seats are also the same color as my M3‘s – not sure what Mercedes calls them but mine are “fox blood”. Creepy name but better than red. Included this picture really to show that unlike the M3, there’s no back seat. No matter how unusable my M3 back seat might be for humans, it’ll still hold two guitar cases and a gig bag. Also, most cars with bolsters this big tend to show wear and tear over the years – these seem fairly fresh.
Hardtop convertibles lose trunk space, some more than others. The protective shell above has to be in the “down” position before the automatic folding process tucks the roof and rear glass into the trunk. With the shell up, it’s easy to fit a large suitcase in there. Even down there’s room for a carry on (or amplifier!) back there. (Side note – I never read the instructions for my convertible and got my roof stuck half closed. Thought I was going to have it towed. Realized I left a six pack of soft drinks in an area of the trunk I didn’t think mattered and it got wedged. Thought about reaching in there to dislodge it and worried I’d be that guy that lost his arm in a freak convertible accident. I got the roof to raise and was able to secure my Diet Cokes. So glad I didn’t have it towed to CarMax and have them ridicule me for years.)
Kudos to CarMax for the rare photo of a convertible with the top down. A little less of a “pug” look. The upside of this being a two seater is unlike the BMW M3, there are no permanently raised headrests looking goofy all the time.
The SLK55 AMG is really about the 5.5 liter hand-built V8. It produces 415 hp, 398 ft-lbs of torque, and per Motor Trend will hit 60 mph in a spectacular 4.2 seconds. (The car in the Motor Trend review looks identical to this one inside and out – how cool would it be if it was the same?) I can attest there’s just something awesome about a high-revving naturally aspirated V8 that can’t be matched by a turbo. The car sold new in the upper $70,000 range. It’s now half that nine years later, and MaxCare is available for another five years and up to 125,000 miles. Find it here just outside Chicago in Schaumburg, Illinois.
