Following a glut of leaks in recent times, official pictures and key information about the all-new Mercedes-Benz SLK have finally surfaced.
The elegant new design was clearly inspired by the SLS and is likely to strike a pleasing chord with the roadster's target market, but it appears there's more than just a pretty face to boast about here.
As before, the SLK offers a retractable hardtop but this time it offers two glass roof options in addition to the familiar aluminium top that's standard. The more basic glass option has a fixed tint while a more advanced Magic Sky Control option is an electro-magnetic glass roof with a variable tint.
This innovative roof can be made transparent or darkened at the touch of a button thanks to a plate condenser with particles that reposition themselves to allow more light to pass through when subjected to an electrical charge. This ultimately means you can let in more sun during winter and do the opposite summer.
Dynamic qualities are improved too via a new rear-wheel drive platform and Mercedes-Benz now offers the choice between three suspension systems. A conventional steel suspension is standard and a sports suspension with stiffer springs and dampers is optional.
The flagship optional suspension is the Dynamic Handling package, which includes continuous adjustable damping a Direct-Steer system and a torque-vectoring device that brakes the inside wheel during hard cornering to allow for a tighter line.
With its new range of engines, technologies like stop-start fitted across the range and greater use of aluminium in the vehicle's construction, the new SLKs are up to 25 per cent more economical than their predecessors.
On the engine front it is rumoured that the SLK will offer a turbodiesel engine for the first time in the form of a 150kW 2.1-litre four cylinder twin turbo, although this has yet to be officially confirmed.
The company did however announce that three petrol versions will make up the initial European range. A 1.8-litre direct injection turbo petrol powers both the SLK 200 and SLK 250, the engine making 135kW in the former case and 150kW in the latter.
As the 'for now' flagship, the SLK 350 is endowed with the company's latest direct injection V6 petrol engine, which is mated to a seven-speed automatic gearbox and produces 228kW and achieves a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 5.6 seconds, according to claims.
As with the car's exterior design, the cabin was clearly inspired by that of the SLS, complete with circular air vents on either side of a large colour infotainment screen.
With the first right hand drive models expected to reach the UK in June this year, expect the new SLK to arrive in South Africa around the third quarter, just in time for summer.