SLK with 415 hp - competion for Boxster?

[www.autoweek.com]

it has to be pretty heavy, which means that it will likely not compete with the Boxster's biggest strength: handling.

and it doesn't matter one iota. The boxster - no real track car - is about acceleration (although all things equal it really helps!). Its about handling, balance, braking.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

At $70K this sounds like a good deal - but I doubt that you will be able to get an equipped AMG SLK less than $85-90K. A well equipped SLK goes for around $63,000. On a CLS, AMG adds about $24,000. That would bring the SLK AMG in at about $85-90,000.
I am sure not going to rush out and get one - but I'm really looking forward to seeing the 2013 Boxster!
mike

Lawdevil
2013 Boxster S - Agate Grey,
2016 Macan Turbo - jet black
Cashiers, NC & Atlanta

But its still a big, heavy, automatic equipped car!

I guess my point is that there are myriad cars that can go zero-to-Xty quickly. That does not make them satisfying or good handling. But our cars are truly amazing in all ways except brute forward thrust. And if you want, that can be fixed with a swapped motor.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

It's been many, many years since I looked at an SLK, but was not impressed. Granted, it was not the AMG. I think the new Ford Mustang's V8 is up there in power, too, but I wouldn't consider it competition for the Boxster. Like the Boxster S, or BMW Ms, I think the sales will come from those already looking at an SLK, but deciding to go for the power and extra goodies.

I agree with Boxsterra and Grant. The SLK sounds like it will be heavy and likely quick in a straight line.

The Boxster is all about handling, balance and braking. When I get into the Boxster, I feel like I'm putting on my most comfortable shoes that allow me to walk, jog, run, twist and turn with ease and comfort. It's like an extension of me.

If someone is shopping for a car by the numbers. The Boxster is the wrong car for them. If you want an exilerating driving experience under all road conditions, specially the ones that involve twists and turns, the the Boxster is the one to get.

A couple of weeks ago, as I got out of the Boxster, a kid in his late teens came over and told me what I nice car it was. His only question was "How many horses does it have?" - I future Boxster owner? No likely.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/2011 09:00AM by Guenter in Ontario. (view changes)

Oh Yeah! It has torque. Tons of it. And it pulls and pulls through the gears. The tranny is the same as the tiptronic, so that is a consideration too. Though it is a bit heavy, it still handles reasonably well. If I scored the Boxster as a 9 in handling, I would give the SLK 55 a 7-8.

What I did not like about the car was that it had very little storage, especially with the folding hard top down. You might be able to slide a pizza in to the rear trunk with the top down (too bad its not the pizza oven that the Boxster has). Inside the driver's compartment it is pretty cramped too.

Here's me riding shotgun on a driver intro lap around Hockenheim in the SLK 55:

Was the one you drove the same as the one in the Autoweek article or is this a new generation SLK? It mentions a 7 speed transmission which sounds more like a PDK than a Tip. Of course it could be a 7 speed with a torque converter.

With all of its creature comforts (such as heat outlet in the seat behind the neck - nice for cool weather top down driving), I thought of the SLK AMG as more of a GT car whereas the Boxster is a pure sports car. However, the lack of luggage space is a real killer for a GT car. One of the big advantages of the Boxster is the luggage space for long road trips (we took ours on a two week trip to Canada a couple of months ago - that would be impossible without a fair amount of luggage space).

Still waiting to see the new Boxster!

mike

Lawdevil
2013 Boxster S - Agate Grey,
2016 Macan Turbo - jet black
Cashiers, NC & Atlanta

It was not the same as the one shown in the article - guess it was a slightly older body style. I don't remember how many gears the tranny had, but it was a paddle shifter and it was definitely not a dual clutch unit.

You can see from the pic that it had the warm air outlet behind the neck which was kinda nice. It also had the mat gray paint job which seems to be a big thing in Europe. In fact there were several cars in the tour, including an SLS, that were painted with a mat color, which I did not care for much.

IMHO, the SLK is too small to be considered a GT car.

I don't think that M/B really considers the SLK as competition for the Boxster.
I do like the look, at least from pix, the older SLK looked kinda chopped off in the rear...wait to see it on the street.