AMG Black Series SLK55

The Mercedes Benz Black Series gathers pace, this time with the launch of the SLK55 version.

This is a hard-core version of the standard SLK55 pocket-rocket – more akin to a track car than a road car. Weight falls by around 100lbs, mainly by changing the trick-roof for a fixed version. It would have been more, but the SLK gets beefier brakes and suspension and 19″ wheels to cope with the extra power – up by 40bhp to 400 bhp. The 0-60 time drops to just 4.5 seconds, and the top speed is an unrestricted 173mph.
There are going to be precious few of these cars available (AMG is only expected to make 10 a month available) and with prices starting from around £62,000 they’re not cheap.

This is a car very much for the driving enthusiast. It’s a hard-core track machine that’s road legal. It should be great fun to drive, but not ideal for popping to Waitrose! It does have a reasonable options list (leather etc), so you can make it more comfortable, and apart from the obvious black it’s also available in silver.

The Black Series cars from AMG seem to be coming on stream (we had the C version a little while ago) and no doubt we’ll see a version throughout much of the Mercedes model range in time. They are very impressive cars, aimed at showing just what AMG can do, and are perhaps a precursor to an all AMG model in the not too distant future (it is rumoured that the eventual replacement for the mighty SLR will be an entirely AMG vehicle).

We wouldn’t recommend one of these as your everyday car, but what a hoot to have one to play with at the weekends!