Mercedes-Benz
SLK/SLC-Class
1996–2020
4 generations, 1 production figure and 17 sourced facts from 26 sources.
Mercedes-Benz SLK and SLC
Mercedes-Benz revealed the production version of its compact two-seat roadster at the Turin Motor Show on April 22, 1996, with production beginning that July at the Bremen plant. The car was called the SLK, an abbreviation of the German "Sportlich, Leicht, Kurz" (sporty, lightweight, short), and it entered a market segment then being redefined by the Mazda MX-5 and the incoming BMW Z3 and Porsche Boxster. Built on a shortened version of the contemporary W202 C-Class platform, the first SLK (retroactively known by its internal chassis code, R170) launched with a four-cylinder line-up: the entry SLK200 and the supercharged SLK230 Kompressor, with a V6 SLK320 and, eventually, the supercharged SLK32 AMG joining later in the run.
What made the R170 SLK genuinely significant, rather than just another small roadster, was its roof. The Vario roof was a fully retractable, electro-hydraulically operated steel hardtop that folded itself into the trunk in roughly 25 seconds at the touch of a button, turning the car from an enclosed coupe into an open roadster and back again. It wasn't the very first retractable hardtop ever built, but it was the design that proved the concept could work reliably in a mass-produced car, and it set off a wave of imitators across the industry through the 2000s, from Volkswagen's Eos to Volvo's C70 to Mercedes' own later SL generations. By the time the R170 was replaced in 2004, more than 300,000 units (commonly cited as upward of 311,000) had been built, an unusually strong result for a compact luxury roadster of that era. The range-topping SLK32 AMG, added for 2000/2001, brought a supercharged 3.2-liter V6 making around 349 hp and became AMG's first factory-tuned SLK.
The second generation, the R171, arrived for the 2004 model year with sharper, Formula 1-influenced styling anchored by a bold three-pointed star grille, a refined and more compact version of the retractable hardtop mechanism, and a new comfort feature called AIRSCARF that blew warm air around occupants' necks so the roof could stay down in cooler weather. The R171 also marked a genuine first for the nameplate: the SLK55 AMG, launched shortly after the standard range, put a naturally aspirated 5.4-liter V8 (roughly 360 PS) into the compact roadster for the first time, making it, at least for a while, the only V8-powered car in its segment.
Mercedes replaced the R171 with the third generation, the R172, which launched in Stuttgart in January 2011 ahead of a public debut at that year's Geneva Motor Show. The R172 again offered a V8 AMG flagship, the SLK55 AMG with a 5.5-liter M152 engine making around 415 hp. It was the last time a V8 would sit under the hood of this line.
In April 2016, twenty years after the original car's debut, Mercedes gave the R172 a mid-cycle facelift and, alongside it, a new name: SLC. The rename wasn't cosmetic branding alone: it matched a broader shift in Mercedes nomenclature that tied smaller models to their platform relatives, the same logic that turned the GLK crossover into the GLC. Mechanically the SLC remained the R172 chassis underneath, but the V8 AMG model didn't survive the switch: the SLK55 AMG was replaced by the Mercedes-AMG SLC43, powered by a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 in place of the old naturally aspirated eight-cylinder, trading some outright horsepower for turbocharged efficiency and a new 9-speed automatic transmission.
The SLC carried on for four more years before Mercedes ended production in 2020, sending it off with a Final Edition offered on both the SLC 300 and AMG SLC 43. Unlike previous SLK/SLC handovers, this one came with no successor: Mercedes did not replace the car with a new-generation compact roadster, effectively closing out a nameplate that had run continuously, under one badge or another, since 1996. The discontinuation arrived amid a broader contraction of the two-seat convertible segment industry-wide, as compact SUVs and crossovers drew buyers away from small sports cars, though Mercedes did not frame the decision around a single stated cause.
Story reading list (28)
- The R170 Mercedes-Benz SLK: the Folding Vario-Roof Baby Roadster (autoevolution)
- April 22, 1996 - Mercedes SLK class debuts at Turin (This Day In Automotive History)
- 1996 Mercedes-Benz SLK (R170) Specs, Performance & Photos (autoevolution)
- Mercedes-Benz SLK (R170): How a 1990s Roadster Changed Convertible Design Forever (Car Division)
- Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class (R170) (Wikipedia)
- Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class (R171) (Wikipedia)
- Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class (R172) (Wikipedia)
- Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class (Wikipedia)
- 2004 Mercedes-Benz SLK (R171) Specs, Performance & Photos (autoevolution)
- 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLK Roadster (R172) Specs, Performance & Photos (autoevolution)
- The new SLC: New name, new dynamic (Mercedes-Benz, media.mercedes-benz.ca)
- The new SLC (Mercedes-Benz USA)
- Mercedes celebrates SLK's 20th birthday (with a name change) (Motor Authority)
- Mercedes SLC revealed: a new name and a new face for SLK in 2016 (Car Magazine)
- SLK & SLC Roadsters (Mercedes-Benz UK)
- Mercedes-Benz Reveals Celebratory SLC Final Edition (WardsAuto)
- Is this the end for the Mercedes-Benz SLC? (Top Gear)
- Mercedes Waves Goodbye To The SLC With Final Edition (CarBuzz)
- 2020 Mercedes-Benz SLC: All Good Things Come To An End (Automoblog)
- Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG (2004-2015): review, specs and buying guide (evo)
- 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG: The Only V8-Powered Roadster in Its Class (CarBuzz)
- A Detailed Look At The R171 Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG (HotCars)
- 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK 32 AMG (R170) Specs, Performance & Photos (autoevolution)
- 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK32 AMG (Supercars.net)
- Mercedes SLC switches letters, loses V8 (Autoblog)
- The new Mercedes-AMG SLC43 (Mercedes-Benz USA)
- Goodbye, SLK 55 AMG. Hello, 362bhp Merc-AMG SLC 43 (Top Gear)
- 1996 Mercedes-Benz SLK 230 Kompressor Specs Review (automobile-catalog.com)
Generations
Mercedes-Benz debuted the production SLK (R170) at the Turin Motor Show on April 22, 1996, with production beginning that July at the Bremen plant. Its signature feature was the Vario roof, a fully retractable metal hardtop that converted the car from coupe to open roadster in about 25 seconds at the push of a button. It was one of the first mass-produced cars to offer this, and the feature reshaped the compact-roadster segment over the following decade. The R170 sold roughly 311,000 units through 2004, including the four-cylinder SLK200/SLK230 Kompressor launch engines, a V6 SLK320 added later, and the supercharged V6 SLK32 AMG (2000/2001-2004), AMG's first SLK. The R171 generation replaced it in 2004 with sharper, F1-inspired styling, a refined retractable hardtop mechanism, and technology such as AIRSCARF neck heating; it introduced the SLK's first V8 AMG variant, the SLK55 AMG (5.4L V8, ~360 PS). The R172 generation launched in Stuttgart in January 2011 (public debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show), again offered an SLK55 AMG V8 flagship, and went through a 2016 mid-cycle facelift that also renamed the car from SLK to SLC, aligning it with Mercedes' C-Class-linked naming scheme (paralleling GLK becoming GLC); the facelift also swapped the naturally aspirated V8 AMG model for a turbocharged V6 Mercedes-AMG SLC43. Mercedes ended SLC production in 2020 with a Final Edition (SLC 300 and AMG SLC 43), closing out the nameplate amid a shrinking two-seat roadster market, without announcing a direct successor model.
| Generation | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| R170 SLK | 1996-2004 | Autoevolution gives more than 311,000 R170 SLKs built from 1996 to 2004, after a Turin debut on April 22, 1996 and Bremen production from July 1996. It launched as the SLK200 (about 136 PS) and SLK230 Kompressor (about 193 PS) with the Vario retractable hardtop, which opened in about 25 seconds, and the supercharged V6 SLK32 AMG (about 349 hp) followed for 2000/2001. |
| R171 SLK | 2004-2011 | The second-generation SLK ran from 2004 to 2011 with Formula 1-inspired styling, a refined retractable hardtop and AIRSCARF neck-level heating. Its SLK55 AMG put a 5.4-litre V8 of about 360 PS (355 hp) into the SLK for the first time, and CarBuzz, evo and HotCars describe it as the only V8 roadster in its class at the time. |
| R172 SLK | 2011-2016 | Launched in Stuttgart in January 2011 and shown at that year's Geneva Motor Show, the third-generation SLK went on sale in spring 2011. Its SLK55 AMG, unveiled at Frankfurt in 2011 and on sale early 2012, used a naturally aspirated 5.5-litre M152 V8 of about 415 hp, the last V8 in the line. |
| R172 SLC (post-rename) | 2016-2020 | Renamed SLC in April 2016 with the R172's facelift, the car swapped the SLK55 AMG V8 for the Mercedes-AMG SLC43's 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, rated at 270 kW; Top Gear gives that as 362 hp, while a Mercedes-Benz USA release gives 367 hp. Production ended in 2020 with a Final Edition on the SLC 300 and AMG SLC 43, and Mercedes announced no direct successor. |
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R170 SLK (1996-2004). Photo: Ethan Llamas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons -
R171 SLK (2004-2011). Photo: MercurySable99, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons -
R172 SLK (2011-2016). Photo: Tokumeigakarinoaoshima, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons -
R172 SLC (post-rename) (2016-2020). Photo: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Production and sales figures
Each row counts one thing for one scope. Production, sales, deliveries and registrations are different measures and are not added together.
Dates, specifications and other facts
Sourced statements behind the story (14)
- R170 public debut date Production SLK (R170) publicly debuted at the Turin Motor Show on April 22, 1996 12
- R170 production start R170 series production began in July 1996 at the Bremen plant, following the April 1996 Turin debut 3
- Vario roof first use The R170 SLK introduced the electro-hydraulic retractable metal hardtop known as the Vario roof, converting the car from coupe to roadster in about 25 seconds; it was among the first mass-produced cars to offer a fully retractable hardtop and is widely credited with popularizing the feature across the segment 24
- Slk name origin The SLK name derives from German "Sportlich, Leicht, Kurz" (sporty, lightweight, short) 25
- R170 platform basis The R170 SLK's architecture was based on a shortened version of the W202 C-Class platform 26
- R170 launch engines At launch the R170 was offered as the SLK200 (2.0L I4, ~136 PS) and SLK230 Kompressor (supercharged 2.3L I4, ~193 PS) 7
- R170 SLK32 amg The SLK32 AMG (2000/2001-2004), with a supercharged 3.2L V6 (~349 hp), was the first AMG-tuned SLK and the most powerful R170 variant 89
- R171 launch The second-generation SLK (R171) launched in 2004 with revised, Formula 1-inspired styling, a refined retractable hardtop, and features including AIRSCARF neck-level heating 10
- R171 SLK55 amg first V8 The SLK55 AMG (R171, from 2004/2005), with a 5.4L V8 producing about 360 PS (355 hp), was the first V8-powered SLK and, at the time, the only V8-powered roadster in its compact-premium segment 111213
- R172 launch The third-generation SLK (R172) launched in Stuttgart in January 2011, with a public debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show and international sales beginning spring 2011 14
- R172 SLK55 amg The R172 SLK55 AMG (unveiled 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, on sale early 2012) used a naturally aspirated 5.5L V8 (M152, ~415 hp) and was the last 8-cylinder engine offered in the compact Mercedes roadster line 15
- Slc rename date In April 2016, with the R172's mid-cycle facelift and 20 years after the original SLK's debut, the model line was renamed from SLK-Class to SLC-Class to align with Mercedes' naming convention linking it to the C-Class 515161718
- SLC43 amg replaces SLK55 amg As part of the 2016 facelift/rename, the naturally aspirated 5.5L V8 SLK55 AMG was replaced by the Mercedes-AMG SLC43, using a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 1920
- Slc discontinuation Mercedes-Benz ended SLC production in 2020, releasing a Final Edition (on the SLC 300 and AMG SLC 43) to mark the close of the run, with no announced direct successor model 2223242526
Where sources disagree
Credible sources give different figures for these. Each figure is shown with the source that gives it.
Sources
- April 22, 1996 - Mercedes SLK class debuts at Turin
- The R170 Mercedes-Benz SLK: the Folding Vario-Roof Baby Roadster
- 1996 Mercedes-Benz SLK (R170) Specs, Performance & Photos
- Mercedes-Benz SLK (R170): How a 1990s Roadster Changed Convertible Design Forever
- Mercedes celebrates SLK's 20th birthday (with a name change)
- Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class (R170)
- 1996 Mercedes-Benz SLK 230 Kompressor Specs Review
- 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK 32 AMG (R170) Specs, Performance & Photos
- 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK32 AMG
- 2004 Mercedes-Benz SLK (R171) Specs, Performance & Photos
- 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG: The Only V8-Powered Roadster in Its Class
- Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG (2004-2015): review, specs and buying guide
- A Detailed Look At The R171 Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG
- 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLK Roadster (R172) Specs, Performance & Photos
- Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class (R172)
- The new SLC: New name, new dynamic
- The new SLC
- Mercedes SLC revealed: a new name and a new face for SLK in 2016
- Mercedes SLC switches letters, loses V8
- Goodbye, SLK 55 AMG. Hello, 362bhp Merc-AMG SLC 43
- The new Mercedes-AMG SLC43
- Mercedes-Benz Reveals Celebratory SLC Final Edition
- Mercedes Waves Goodbye To The SLC With Final Edition
- Is this the end for the Mercedes-Benz SLC?
- 2020 Mercedes-Benz SLC: All Good Things Come To An End
- SLK & SLC Roadsters