Mercedes Announces Diesel SLK 250 CDI

Diesel is not usually known as the fuel for sports cars. Of course, there are the Peugeots and Audis that race at Le Mans, and Audi makes a diesel TT and made a one-off R8 with a diesel V12. That pretty much completes the list of modern, diesel-powered sports cars, until today at least when Mercedes announced the SLK 250 CDI – a diesel SLK. 

The diesel SLK comes with Mercedes 2.1 liter, four-cylinder diesel engine making 204hp and 500Nm of torque. With its standard 7G-Tronic Plus seven-speed automatic transmission it will do the sprint from zero to 100km/h in 6.7 seconds and has a top speed of 243 km/h. The engine uses 4.9 liters/100km of diesel and produces 128g/km of CO2. Mercedes promises a six-speed manual transmission will come later. 

Mercedes claims that due to the car's high fuel efficiency. It will be possible to drive from the North Sea to the Mediterranean nonstop. 

Like all SLKs, the diesel version will be available with a host of options. These include three available roofs including the one with Magic Sky Control that allows the driver to switch the glass from dark to clear at the push of a button. The SLK is also available with three suspension set-ups: the standard version with steel springs, a version with stiffer sport springs or an electronically controlled damping. 

The SLK 250 CDI will be available for order starting September 13, 2011, with a base price including VAT of €41,828.50. 

For sake of comparison, the 2.0 TDI powered Audi TT Roadster costs €39,100 with an automatic transmission in Germany. It makes 170hp and 350Nm of torque and uses 5.5l/100km of diesel in the combined-cycle. It also produces 144g/km of CO2.