Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG

Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG

We know that AMG, the high-performance wing at Mercedes-Benz, has a pretty good handle on engine tweaking鈥攋ust look at its spring catalog. AMG offers up 14 models, each packing no fewer than eight cylinders and outputs ranging from 355 horsepower to a mind-boggling 604 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. Now, lest you think we're making excuses for this new SLK55, AMG's least-powerful car, let us introduce a previously unused AMG performance trick: Mercedes' seven-speed automatic. The German automaker introduced this transmission for 2004, but until now the most powerful engine it was bolted to was the company's 302-hp, 5.0-liter V-8, so all AMG models had to rely on the five-speed automatic. So what are a couple more gear ratios going to do? The previous-generation car, the SLK32 AMG, had a supercharged and intercooled 3.2-liter V-6 putting down 349 horsepower and 322 pound-feet of torque. 3265 pounds, scampered to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, and crossed the quarter-mile in 13.0 seconds at 110 mph. Despite this fact, the SLK55 outaccelerates its predecessor, ripping to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and clearing the quarter in the 12s鈥攑recisely, 12.7 seconds at 111 mph鈥攍argely because of improved gearing, not just power.

SLK55 by 45 horsepower and 24 pound-feet of torque, and weighs 155 fewer pounds. Yet the Vette ties the SLK at 4.3 seconds to 60 mph and loses the quarter-mile race by a 10th, 12.8 versus 12.7 seconds. And that was a six-speed manual Corvette, not the wimpy four-speed automatic. Or consider this: The SLK55 matches its big brother E55 from 0 to 60 mph鈥攄espite the E55's 469 supercharged horsepower propelling fewer pounds per pony鈥攁nd is just 0.2 second slower through the quarter-mile. Besides the overachieving numbers, acceleration runs are just so darn pleasing in the SLK55. Modulate the throttle for launch to produce an appropriate amount of wheelspin, and then hammer it鈥攖he rest is taken care of for you. With the closely spaced cogs, the engine is always kept in a sweet spot between 5000 rpm and the 6700-rpm redline; thus, acceleration is never peaky, just strong and constant, with upshifts executed nearly manual-tranny quick. Mercedes says AMG's modifications to the standard seven-speed netted 35-percent-faster shifts, and the tranny must swap ratios quickly since it has to shift twice before reaching 60 mph in the SLK55. Delayed reactions would spoil any increased performance from the enhanced gearing.

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Say you're in love with the Mercedes-AMG GT, the front-engine, rear-drive sledgehammer from Benz's in-house hot-rod division. It's a riot鈥攂ut with two seats and minimal trunk space, it's not for everyone. Enter the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, an AMG muscle-machine built to thrill you and three friends. The GT 4-Door Coupe was wholly designed by AMG; it's a brand-new, unique offering, not an AMG-ified version of an existing Mercedes-Benz. That means it's a performer through and through. The AMG GT 4-Door Coupe comes in three varieties. AMG GT 53 packs the all-new turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six with electric supercharger with 429 horsepower, 384 lb-ft, and "EQ Boost," a mild-hybrid system contributing 21 horsepower and up to 184 lb-ft of torque. With a torque-converter nine-speed transmission, the 53 can sprint 0-60 in 4.4 seconds and hit 174 mph according to AMG. Step up to AMG GT 63, and things get more raucous. Here, you get the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 known across AMG's lineup, cranking out 577 horses and 553 lb-ft of torque, good for 0-60 in 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 193 mph.

Or step up to the top rung, the AMG GT 63 S, which uses the same engine but cranks the output to 630 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque. The S model does 0-60 in 3.1 seconds with a top speed of 195 mph, AMG claims. V8 models use a wet-clutch nine-speed automatic. Every AMG GT 4-Door Coupe uses a variable all-wheel drive system with an electro-mechanical clutch apportioning torque to the front axle as needed. V8 models offer Drift Mode (standard on GT 63 S, optional on GT 63), which, when the car is in Race mode, deactivates the transfer case and keeps the vehicle in rear-wheel drive. V8 models also get an electronic locking rear differential and rear steering. All AMG GT models feature active aerodynamics, with a rear spoiler that flattens to a low-drag position when driving in a straight line and deploys to a high-downforce setting when cornering loads are detected. An optional Aerodynamics package, available on V8 models, replaces the active spoiler with the fixed, manually-adjustable track-oriented spoiler shown here. Inside, the AMG GT 4-Door Coupe utilizes Mercedes' new instrument panel layout, placing one digital screen in front of the driver and another atop the center stack. The V8-powered AMG GT 4-Door variants will arrive on the market in early 2019; six-cylinder models will come a few months later. No pricing has been announced as of this time.