Friday, April 29, 2011

Big Motor plus small car = SLK55 AMG

It's a time honored tradition is the automotive industry to shove a big motor in to a small car. It's like a performance prerequisite. Imagine the mental checklist. Sporty car, check. Bigger brakes, check. Stiff chassis with different damping, check. Motor that is from a big sedan, check. It's the same story in some of the more successful European cars, see the V8 S4, the V8 M3, and of course American muscle like Mustangs, Camaros, and the original big motor small car, the Shelby Cobra.

Enter the SLK55 AMG. The SLK started life as your girlfriends cute convertible with a little bit of street cred for the all metal folding roof. Then they shoved a supercharged V6 in the engine bay for the SLK32 AMG. After the new body style came out though, the Daimler boys knew they needed to step up their game. They had a Kompressor version of every sporty car out there, all with over 400 ponies. This meant that they couldn't sissy out on their least manly car in their arsenal. They knew that the SLK had the chassis and ability to become a real weapon, but it needed a heart transplant. Enter the new heart. A 355hp normally aspirated version of the 5.5L in the original E and S55 AMG and the engine in the current C55 AMG.

It's a rocket. An absolute rocket. It's the stuff dreams are made of. The stuff that teenage boys fantasize about when they aren't thinking of that girl in math class that they'll never get. All this from a "girl car". I think that's one thing I really like about this car is that it is unassuming. The guy in the Mustang thinks you borrowed your girlfriends car, until you smash to Go pedal and that exhaust emits an eruption that begs to be heard. It's like a kid crying for attention saying "hey look at me", except by the time you hear it, it's in front of you and you are left thinking, "did that girl car just lay in to me like my wife after I've drank too much?"

The SLK was tested against it's big brother, the SL55 AMG by EVO magazine and it turned a one second faster lap time. Not bad for a car with almost 100hp less on tap. Is it as nice as the SL55, no. It also didn't cost over 100grand new either. This is a bang for your buck car. A wicked fast track missile that can be driven daily. Mercedes Benz is a company that has mastered the performance automobile. They have made it tame and usable, while allowing a monster to live in the same space. They balance Jekyll and Hyde like none other. Each AMG engine is hand built and I've yet to see a major engine concern on an AMG, even ones that were driven as intended.

A big shout out to the Freeman Motor Co. Service Dept. and Captain Savage for the sweet decals. Thanks guys. I'm always happy to entertain.

2 comments:

  1. Yo Dennis,

    I'm going thru withdrawal without a new post.

    Or Vette 50

    ReplyDelete
  2. yEah wHAt hE sAId...,,.,.,.,.,.

    ReplyDelete