2005 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG

Highlights

• Naturally aspirated 5.4-litre AMG V8 with a proper old-school soundtrack

• Freshly resprayed in its original Iridium silver

• Subtle, tasteful spec with a black-finished folding hardtop and gunmetal AMG alloys

• Well optioned

• Extensive documented service history

Overview

Plucked from the canon of “small cars with a big engine”, the SLK 55 packs a large amount of lovely-sounding handbuilt engine into a suitably modest footprint. Drop the folding roof, thumb the starter and the 5.4-litre M113 V8 clears its throat with the kind of naturally aspirated bark that turbochargers have generally smothered everywhere else. There's 360 bhp and 376 lb ft here, hand-assembled at Affalterbach and squeezed under the bonnet of one of the smallest cars Mercedes made, and the result is a pocket-sized roadster that pulls hard, sounds glorious and still wafts when you want it to.

What sets this particular car apart is how well it wears its two decades. It's recently had a professional full respray in its original Iridium silver, and the owner has given it a quietly distinctive look with a black-finished retractable hardtop and gunmetal multi-spoke AMG alloys. The effect is a sleeper spec that's a world away from the usual monochrome examples, yet still unmistakably AMG thanks to the V8 badging, mesh grille and quad exhaust tips.

Inside it's every bit the fast Mercedes, with black leather sports seats, Airscarf neck-level heating for top-down motoring and a Harman Kardon system to fight the V8 for your attention. It's usefully equipped, comfortable over distance and still a proper event on a good road. Behind it sits a genuinely thick paperwork file that backs up years of careful upkeep, though it's the way this SLK looks and drives today that really makes the case for you to hit the bid button. This is a modern classic that's ready to be enjoyed exactly as it sits.

History And Documentation

• Registered new on 23 September 2005, with three former keepers and in the same enthusiast's hands since 2014

• Comes with the original Mercedes-Benz book pack, a stamped service booklet and a thick file of dealer and independent invoices

• Documented services at Jun 2006 @ 10,552 miles, Jan 2007 @ 21,512 miles, Aug 2007 @ 31,114 miles, Apr 2009 @ 40,652 miles, Nov 2010 @ 47,452 miles, Apr 2012 @ 59,242 miles, Jun 2014 @ 68,573 miles, Aug 2014 @ 68,731 miles, Apr 2015 @ 70,553 miles, Jan 2016 @ 71,384 miles, Mar 2016 @ 71,667 miles, Mar 2017 @ 74,429 miles, Jun 2017 @ 74,873 miles, Jun 2018 @ 77,299 miles, May 2019 @ 78,524 miles, Jul 2019 @ 78,561 miles, Jul 2021 @ 78,612 miles, Jul 2022 @ 78,852 miles, Jul 2023 @ 79,313 miles and Jul 2025 @ 80,203 miles

• Invoiced work over the years includes a starter motor, both cam covers resealed and replacements of both castor-arm bushes, both front lower suspension arms, both front camber arms, an airmass sensor, a crankshaft position sensor

• HPI clear

• Current MOT valid until 19 July 2027

• V800WEE private plate included

Interior

• Black leather sports seats with contrasting suede centres, showing only light age-related creasing and no obvious damage

• Leather three-spoke AMG steering wheel, brushed AMG sill plates and AMG-branded instrumentation

• Airscarf neck-level heating, Harman Kardon audio and the electric memory package covering the seats, mirrors and steering column

• We're told the air conditioning may benefit from a re-gas

• Seven-speed automatic operated through the aluminium AMG shift gate on the centre console

• CD changer

• AMG floor mats

Exterior

• Finished in silver, which the vendor tells us has recently had a professional full respray in its original Iridium silver

• Retractable hardtop finished in black, professionally sprayed, for a subtle two-tone look

• Gunmetal multi-spoke AMG alloy wheels wearing tyres with healthy tread

• AMG front bumper, mesh grille and twin-pipe quad exhaust outlets

• Straight panels and consistent shut lines

• Headlamp lenses carry some mild age-related clouding that would respond to a polish

Mechanical

• 5.4-litre naturally aspirated M113 V8 producing 360 bhp and 376 lb ft, driving the rear wheels

• Seven-speed 7G-Tronic automatic gearbox

• 0-62 mph in 4.9 seconds and a limited 155 mph top speed

• Clean engine bay still wearing its AMG one man, one engine builder's signature plaque

• A K&N induction filter is fitted, and the vendor tells us a previous owner added a sportier exhaust

Summary

This is a genuinely usable, naturally aspirated AMG V8 that presents far better than its years suggest, with a fresh respray, a distinctive two-tone silver and black look and a well-optioned cabin. It drives as a 360 bhp SLK 55 should, backed by an extensive documented history, and it's ready to enjoy from the moment you collect it. Unblown AMG V8s in this kind of order are only getting harder to find. Don’t let this one get away.

To arrange a viewing, click the Book Viewing button located under the Place Bid button. Viewings can be booked up until the day before the auction ends, after which the option will change to Contact Seller for further enquiries. This seller is located in Loughborough, Leicestershire.

Following the auction, the car will be available for collection from 8 Sep.