What do you want from a sports car? Given this is PH, a few desirable features can hopefully be assumed: a powerful engine (ideally naturally aspirated), rear-wheel drive and a manual gearbox would make for an auspicious start. There’s a reason why cars thus configured - from Caterham to Corvette and GR86 to GT3 - are so popular around here. Simple pleasures, see.
It’s also why cars like the Porsche Boxster and BMW Z4 so often come up in discussion. For less than £10,000 you’re going to get a great little two-seat roadster with a lovely six-cylinder engine and the unrepeatable enjoyment of a six-speed manual. They’ll take a little bit to keep in fine fettle now given their age, but both remain very tempting purchases. It’s that manual availability that has tended to keep them more recommendable than the contemporary Mercedes SLK; the R171 generation’s seven-speed auto was quite a big deal in the 2000s, but less desirable now. A bit like the old Porsche Tiptronic, in fact. The solution? Well, it’s obvious - a manual, V6 SLK, of course.
Yes, it was a real thing and, yes, this is one of them, a 272hp, 3.5-litre Mercedes SLK with a six-speed manual. Interesting, right? Though inevitably not all that popular with buyers, the 350 manual was well received in media drives: ‘The engine has a willing personality that is perfectly suited to a manual transmission - you'll definitely not regret choosing it over the automatic’ reckoned Car & Driver, adding that the precise and rewarding shift felt ‘like the love child of a Honda S2000 and BMW M3’, which doesn’t sound bad at all. Autocar suggested that the SLK’s six-speed was, at long last, a ‘Mercedes manual gearbox that encourages the driver to shift gears.’ Paired with a smooth, powerful 3.5, the verdict was that the manual ‘is now good enough to offer an alternative to the terrific new seven-speed auto’. Bet you weren’t expecting that.
Now, obviously, these verdicts are the best part of 20 years old, and nobody was calling this a Mercedes MX-5. But plenty of less-than-stellar manuals remain fawned over, and the prospect of an SLK with a big engine and a clutch pedal is certainly intriguing. Boxsters, Z4s and the like are good, sure, though it’s nice to be a bit different sometimes. Even better if different is actually not half bad.
Predictably, there aren’t many SLKs out there with six naturally aspirated cylinders and six manual gears. There are a few, however, and this one looks an absolute corker: Thulite Red is a welcome break from black, blue, or silver, and pairs fantastically with Sahara Beige leather. It’s covered 71,000 miles with two owners since 2008 (the most recent since 2012), and is said to benefit from a full service history. From the pics, it appears extremely well cared for; certainly there are many worse looking ‘171s out there.
Gets better, too, as this example has been retrofitted with a smartphone-compatible head unit, the front discs and pads are new, plus a fresh MOT will be supplied (the current test runs to November without an advisory). Lots of boxes ticked there. Now imagine what a Boxster or Z4 like this would cost - certainly more than the £6,995 being asked here. That barely buys a 350Z Roadster these days. For an SLK this smart, that doesn’t seem very much at all. Just get used to telling people that a manual really did exist…
SPECIFICATION | MERCEDES SLK 350
Engine: 3,498cc, V6
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 272@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 258@2,400-5,000rpm
MPG: 26.7
CO2: 255g/km
Year registered: 2008
Recorded mileage: 71,000
Price new: £35,792 (2007)
Yours for: £6,995
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