Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class
car model
The Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class is a compact executive roadster, produced by Mercedes-Benz. It was released in 1996 and was manufactured at the Mercedes plant in Bremen, Germany, until 2020.
The former name "SLK" was derived from sportlich (sporty), leicht (lightweight), and kurz (short). With the release of the facelift R172 in 2016, the SLK-Class was renamed to SLC-Class in accordance with the revised nomenclature adopted by Mercedes. Under this scheme, roadsters use the base name "SL", followed by the model's placement in Mercedes-Benz hierarchy, the letter "C", being the roadster equivalent to the C-Class.
First generation (R170; 1995–2004)
The R170 Mercedes SLK was the first generation compact roadster manufactured and marketed by Mercedes, from 1995 to 2004. It was designed from late 1991 under Bruno Sacco, with a final design being completed in early 1993 and approved by the board, with a German design patent filed on September 30, 1993. The production SLK-Class was introduced at the Turin Motor Show on 22 April 1996, appearing as a modern incarnation of the 1950s Mercedes-Benz 190SL, by returning to four cylinders and with an identical 94-inch (2,400 mm) wheelbase. A facelift was introduced to all models in 2000, featuring an updated design and updated engines.
Second generation (R171; 2004–2010)
The R171 SLK was unveiled at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q851905. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1996, 2020, 2016 and 1995.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.