Want to turn your Mercedes SLK into a goldfish bowl? Our spies have caught this prototype out on test with a panoramic glass roof, which is being readied for launch on the next-generation SLK.
It’s like the panoramic glass vario roof available on the SLK’s bigger brother, the SL. So expect a similar cost of around £1400 – and we hear it’s a popular option on top-spec SLs.
Does a glass roof affect operation of the SLK’s folding hard-top?
Apparently not, but we guess that’s what the engineers are testing right now. It essentially just changes the main roof section from metal to toughened glass like your average laminated windcreen. But CAR’s spy photos prove the vario roof is heavily tinted to protect your bonce from solar radiation.
The idea is that it bathes the cabin in light, for those occasions when you don’t want to lower the roof because it’s too hot or you’re driving through a polluted city, for instance. Just the ticket for roadster buyers who want to see and be seen, then.
This test mule is an interesting vehicle, since it’s based on the pre-facelift SLK. Well placed sources told CAR that the glass roof won’t be offered in the lifetime of this SLK, pointing to the next-generation car due around 2011.
Click here to read CAR’s first drive of the facelifted SLK