The new Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 is the ‘Kurz’ reincarnate with two less cylinders and is more starry eyed than before. With convertibles finally finding their space in India, does it have what it takes to pack a good top-down fight at the sharper end?
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
What if I told you one end of a city was bringing a boxer to a knife fight? The boxer made a strong case too. Quite a knockout. Then, the world almost turned upside down and the heavyweights began watching their diet; and their footprints. What resulted was a trimming down of internals and a control so strict that heart transplants were the only solution.
Yes, the world has not lost its affection for sports cars. However, the others: the polar bears, the depleting number of tigers, and all kinds of offspring who breathe in the air with added NOx and COx from the use of such cars that have abnormally large engines for pleasure have found it increasingly difficult to cope with the change. As such, most sports cars are not just getting smaller hearts with lesser valves, they’re even shrinking themselves.
Having a compact roadster with a convertible roof, a lightweight body and an engine enough for a peppy family estate seem to be a growing trend worldwide. In India, convertibles have grown more in number, undeniably so. And, now, there are more choices than ever before, especially at the more attractive end of the price spectrum; the ones which only begin to nip at the eight-figure barrier like a dog on a trampoline peeking over the picket fence.
The Mercedes-AMG SLC 43, then, is the new SLK. New face. New name. New engine. New gearbox. And a resurrected ’43’ badge, too. The SLC sure is ‘Sport’ and ‘Light’ and rather ‘Compact’ though I’m not entirely sure what they were going for. Either way, it’s an exciting new car and it looks absolutely gorgeous.
The exterior is vastly identical to the outgoing SLK, and it’s pretty much just the face that’s been prettied up, apart from several other changes that don’t meet the eye. Not directly at least. What is visible is the new face. The new star-studded front grille, similar to the ones seen on the A-, CLA- and even the S-Class Coupé, is a thing of beauty and looks like it was always destined to be there – adorning the mini SL for two. The sides are just as chunky and contoured and lend it a sporty and agile look, albeit with a more relaxed and elegant demeanour. The rear end looks full and the hard-top roof folds into the 335-litre boot, reducing it to 225 litres.
