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High-revving sports engine: added power and considerably lower consumption
Making a mighty contribution to the sporty billing of the 2008 generation of the SLK are three reengineered drive units, which all make their mark with lower fuel consumption, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions. Both the four-cylinder engine in the SLK 200 KOMPRESSOR and the six-cylinder sports engine in the SLK 350 benefit from a substantial increase in output and torque. Only the SLK 55 AMG retains its familiar engine - an eight-cylinder unit that has lost none of its mesmerising performance capability and remains a unique selling point in the SLK segment.
The Mercedes-Benz engineers devoted particular attention to the V6 sports engine with high-revving concept, which is making its debut in the new-generation SLK. By performing a major overhaul of the engine's mechanics, the engineers succeeded in giving the V6 unit a completely new lease of life. Although the displacement remains the same at 3498 cc, the engine now musters up 224 kW/305 hp at 6500 rpm - some 24 kW (33 hp) more than its predecessor. Torque has been upped too (+ 10 Nm) and now peaks at 360 Nm at 4900 rpm.
This has been achieved by raising the rev speed limit to 7200 rpm, at the same time as increasing the compression ratio, fitting a new intake manifold and making extensive modifications to the valve gear.
The new engine also strikes a far more emotive-sounding note after being deliberately tuned to deliver resonant sports engine acoustics, with overrun mode producing a particularly emotion-stirring sound. When partnered by the 7G TRONIC automatic transmission, the engine management furthermore triggers an automatic double-declutching function during downshifts - not only does this create a very sporty soundtrack, it helps to limit load-alteration effects too.
Yet despite its higher power output and such high-calibre performance, fuel consumption in the SLK 350 has been cut by a sizeable margin. With the six-speed manual transmission on board, combined fuel consumption is just 9.5 litres per 100 km, a remarkable reduction of 1.1 litres per 100 km; if the 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission is fitted, the sports engine limits itself to a mere 9.2 litres for every 100 km on the combined cycle - 0.9 litres less than previously. The cut in fuel consumption also lowers CO2 emissions by 23 g/km to 219 g/km on the automatic model (manual transmission: 227 g/km, a reduction of 28 g/km).
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So this V6 despite earlier articles from various magazines, doesn't include direct-injection. Makes me wonder if this engine will show up in other 350 models now. The C350 and E350 models might not be suited to a high-rev version of the 3.5L V6 so we may see yet another version of the 3.5 V6 for them for the 2009 model year.
Mercedes SLK Facelift: In Depth|Page 2: Mercedes SLK Facelift: In Depth
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