• Originally displayed in Mercedes’ flagship Piccadilly showroom

 • In single ownership since 2001 until this year

 • Exemplary condition with only 52,500 miles covered

Summer’s here, and that means it’s time to think about that convertible you’ve always promised yourself. Ideally, you’d like something a little bit old and interesting, but modern enough that you can get into it and go for a drive whenever you feel like it. Perhaps you’ve got a weekend’s touring in mind and want something comfortable and reliable, and you’d rather not have to faff around with a fiddly canvas soft-top when one of our summer tempests looms on the horizon.

In short, what you need is one of the original Mercedes SLKs, built between 1996 and 2004. Standing for sportlich (sporty), leicht (light) and kurz (compact), the purpose of the SLK was to repackage the sporting and luxury qualities of the long-established SL range onto a smaller platform. In 2000, a larger engine of 3.2-litres joined the range in the SLK 320 model and, with that, it became a real little rocket.

With 215bhp and a 0-62mph time of 6.9 seconds, the SLK 320 has all the vim you’d want from a sports car without scrimping on the comforts, hence you get a pair of ample leather seats and the electric folding roof, which lets you transition between coupé and roadster styles effortlessly in a matter of seconds. And if you’re realising now that the SLK 320 is the car for you, this particular example boasts a particularly interesting provenance, so read on…

 • Originally supplied to Mercedes-Benz Piccadilly as a display centrepiece in Mercedes-Benz’s flagship London showroom, and first registered on 15th May 2001

 • A bespoke car with special-order paint and interior trim

 • Sold to the previous vendor, the car’s only private owner, on 30th June 2001 and very well cared-for since

 • Paperwork includes the V5 and a large collection of MoT certificates dating back to 2010

 • Though Mercedes-Benz Piccadilly owned the car, the vendor actually purchased it through the Mercedes-Benz Centre on the Edgware Road, with the original sales paperwork retained in excellent condition

 • A collection of invoices shows that a lot of money has been spent on the car over the years, with much work being completed by Mercedes-Benz of Bedford

 • The original factory literature from Mercedes-Benz is present and in good condition, including the SLK Owner’s Manual, Services book and Radio Audio 10/30 Owner’s Manual
Only being sold to reduce a private collection due to lack or internal storage. This car deserves the very best, so it has been selected as one for Car & Classic find its next new home, and it will not disappoint.

 • Leather Anthracite with Cinnamorra Designo Anthracite trim

 • Remarkably good condition for 21 years old

 • Very comfortable interior brimming with luxuries, including heated seats and a radio-CD player

Trimmed in pitch-black Leather Anthracite, the SLK’s interior provides a sober contrast to its vivid exterior and is so well-appointed that, wherever you go, you should feel cosseted. Designo is Mercedes’s name for its individualisation options which allow customers to order cars from the factory specially tailored to their exact requirements, and the interior has benefitted from that bespoke touch with the Cinnamorra Anthracite trim, which gives the centre console its glossy deep black finish.

The interior barely shows its age at all. The seats, dash, centre console, doors and carpets are all exceptionally good, and difficult to fault. There is some very light, superficial damage to the surface of the centre console near the handbrake lever, and a few very small marks or scratches on the seat leather, door pulls and around the base of the glovebox door, but in most respects we are looking at an interior which is still much like new.

The air-conditioning, radio-CD player and heated seats ensure that no matter where you go, the car will look after you. To the best of our knowledge, everything is in working order, so you can just settle down for a relaxing drive and allow yourself to be pampered.

 • Eye-catching Light Green is a special-order Designo colour

 • Like the interior, it is all in the most remarkably good condition

 • One of the first cars to popularise the electrically retracting hardtop

If you like to stand out, you’ll love the Light Green paint on this car. Not only is it eye-catching and summery in a rather tropical way, as a Designo special option it’s also extremely rare. Even if you were to attend a national SLK convention, we don’t think you’ll cross paths with another quite like this.

Since it has been garaged all its life and covered only a little over 50,000 miles, it’s no wonder it still looks so good. The paint is in superb condition, and while there are just a few small blemishes they are mostly in places where you’d never see them, such as at the base of the front valance. It is a pity that a little patch of paint has flaked off from a corner of the bonnet near the windscreen, but besides that the car is let down by nothing more serious than a few small chips on the bumpers and some tiny scrapes on the nearside door mirror.

The alloy wheels are exceptionally good. There is some very slight scuffing at the rims, but in every other respect they are excellent, and almost like new. All the badges are in wonderful condition, standing out even against the bright paint, and everything else is just as you’d want it to be. The glass is all in excellent condition and the car’s main selling point, the electric folding hardtop works beautifully. It can be raised or lowered in about 20 seconds, and no effort is required on the part of the driver besides operating a switch.

 • M112 3.2-litre V6 engine and automatic gearbox

 • MoT valid until July 2022

 • Much recent expenditure

The vendor has kept his Mercedes consistently well-maintained, so you can feel assured that it’s in very good mechanical health. It has always been serviced when necessary and has an impressive record of MoTs back to 2010. It passed its last MoT in July 2021 with no advisory points save for an ‘oil leak, but not excessive’, so it’s very much a car you can jump in and drive.

The engine fires up willingly and, with its automatic gearbox, pulls away smoothly. The steering is extremely light and the brakes very responsive. At low speeds, it is all very docile, but its performance figures testify that there is a fiercer side to it when you get a quiet stretch of road and an opportunity to put your foot down.

Recent work, including the fitment of new brake pads, has largely been undertaken by Mercedes-Benz of Bedford, but QCD Automotive recently replaced a gearbox gasket, which was a labour-intensive job only because of the awkwardness of getting access to it.

If you want to make the most of summertime with a sports car, this SLK 320 is one of the best you could buy. The 3.2-litre engine was the quickest and most powerful offered so you can have some fun with it but, for us, it’s the bespoke Designo paint and interior trim that really make this car. It’s a very handsome colour, if not one for the shy and retiring, and you can take some pride in the fact that almost no one else has another SLK like it.

The interesting provenance is just one more reason to revel in ownership of this car. Very few people can say their car was ordered for display purposes by the marque’s flagship dealership, but that’s the case with this one. And, thanks to over 20 years of careful single ownership, it’s almost in showroom condition. Cars like this just don’t come up for sale every day.