Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Mercedes SLK55 AMG

It sits there, all tension and sinew, ready to pounce on lesser cars. Start it up and it barks with a clear V8 voice that thumps off the neighbor's house, setting them discreetly peeking from behind their lace curtains. This is an SLK? Oh yeah. No longer a blocky Benz with dwarfism, the SLK55 AMG ripples with muscle and delivers speed like a spin kick to the temple. A bad-ass Mercedes, indeed.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Dan Roth / Weblogs, Inc.

click above pic to view more images of the Kleeman GTK Concept

Well-known Mercedes tuner Kleemann has released the first official rendering of its own car, an in-house production called the Kleemann GTK. The carbon fiber skin is wrapped around an SLK body, and the design language is "based on the unique Kleemann design code of elegance and simplicity acknowledging the Nordic design traditions of simple and organic shapes." That apparently means a Reventon (again with the Reventon) snout, a Castagna Aznom front fender treatment, and sharper SLK lines from the A-pillar back.

The GTK is actually based on the SLK 55, and gets a Kleemann Kompressor system, 20-inch Kleeman wheels and 8-piston Kleemann brakes in front and 4-piston out back. That "kompressor" means the little roadster puts 540 HP and 516 lb-ft through its 7-speed auto box. Twenty-inch Kleeman rims ride rubber slivers called Toyo T1-R tires designed specifically for the car. According to Kleemann, it gets to six-oh in 3.7 seconds and runs up to 180+ MPH. Kleemann isn't going to do mass production, so for those of you with the means (lots), place your call now.

[Source: Kleemann]