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The odd couple

DaimlerChrysler cannot be accused of doing things by halves. When it pulls out of one car company – Mitsubishi – it pulls out of another – Hyundai. When a senior manager is set for retirement to be replaced by another, it reverses its decision fairly late in the day and when it produces a compact four-door car, not only do we have the Smart Forfour, but also the Mitsubishi Colt. Within the last few weeks, there has also been the double helping of two-seater roadsters – from Stuttgart, the freshly new Mercedes-Benz SLK while out of Auburn Hills in Michigan arrives the Chrysler Crossfire Roadster.

The new Crossfire (right) is no less head-turning but completely different in its styling to the new Mercedes-Benz SLK (below)

At first glance it would be easy to be dismissive of this dual action policy, believing that DaimlerChrysler was indulging in a spot of badge engineering a la General Motors and its prostituted Saab and Chevrolet badges. Being DC, though, it is not the case.

To begin with, both the new SLK and Crossfire derive from different platforms. Admittedly the German-made US designed and engineered car uses the outgoing SLK’s platform, but it is in fact a very different car from that model and bears hardly any comparison with the new-look SLK. Perhaps the fact that it is strictly a drophead two-seater is the only point of comparison.

You do not have to be a Mercedes enthusiast to tell the new SLK from its immediate forebear. There has been no evolution of style here, but rather a dramatic jump from square, slightly bluff shape to an altogether more sleek design that hints of a racing car. This is principally due to the long, wide bonnet that features a slightly raised central axis that tapers at the front to be flanked by two horizontal wings in the radiator grille. Further reinforcing the racing heritage and giving the car a far more aggressive look that either its predecessor or the Crossfire is the large lower air intake, vertical vanes and spoiler edges that underline its powerful presence on the road.

The Crossfire, in contrast, has a far more bluff front end that is no less head-turning but completely different in its styling. Jo Dehner, director of exterior/interior design at Chrysler, was intent on using the model as the role model when it came to forging a brand identity for the Chrysler brand. The floating radiator grille bars, the sculptured headlamps, the “art deco” bonnet with centreline spline plus the broad Chrysler wings are central to the look he wanted to give the car. There is no question that this is a re-branded SLK but rather a model in its own rights with its own character.

Where the SLK continues with the vario-roof, the Chrysler sticks with a soft material for the hood. Interestingly the top goes down on both versions in 22 seconds, and both at the touch of a button, although the latter needs a twist of a handle and a helping prod to get it going. Once under way, though, it is a case of electric motors strutting their stuff to tuck both soft top and vario-roof under their respective covers. As a consequence, though, neither model gives much concession to boot space. In the case of the Crossfire 190 litres with the top up and 104 with it down while the Mercedes offers a little more generous 300 litres with the top up and 208 with it down. What it does not have, though, is the mandated luminous safety handle on the inside of the bootlid should you be unlucky enough to fall into it and find the lid closes on you. The fact that you need to be a contortionist to perform such a trick in the Crossfire is neither here nor there as it is a legal requirement to have it.

There is little difference between the two when it comes to the kerb weight. The Crossfire in manual form turns the scales at 1,424 kg while the SLK 350 registers 1,465 kg and the 200 Kompressor 1,390 kg. The turning circle is not that different either, the Crossfire doing a slightly better job of it taking just 9.8 metres compared to the 10.5 required by the SLK.

While the Mercedes appears to be quite a wide car, the Chrysler looks much longer, but again the visuals are misleading. Only 24 mm separates the two when it comes to overall length – the American car measures 4,058 mm but the Mercedes is 4,082 mm although at 2,430 mm, its wheelbase is slightly shorter than the 2,400 mm of the Crossfire. However, the SLK’s width is not misleading – it front/rear track measure 1,530/1,541 mm while that of the Chrysler is 1,493/1,502 mm. Overall height, as a point of interest, shows that the latter is slightly higher at 1,315 mm compared to the SLK’s 1,296 mm.

The interiors of both cars are really quite different. The SLK features a completely revised cabin from the earlier version with perhaps the so-called “Airscarf” being the primary feature. This is a clever design that ducts warm air up through the seat backs to a vent in the head restraint. At the touch of a button, it is possible to have a cosy blast of warm air directed to the back of the neck even with the top down. One of the challenges that needed to be overcome was how to achieve the required level of heating while being small enough to fit into the SLK seats while at the same time generating enough thermal energy to heat the airflow in the roadster interior with the roof down. The answer was the use of high-performance ceramic materials for the first time in this application – various elements made of barium titanate and other metal oxides being energised, causing them to heat up in a matter of seconds and emit heat continuously. Once a certain temperature has been reached, the electrical resistance of the ceramic material suddenly jumps, thereby reducing power consumption and so saving on draining the 12-volt power supply. This “Positive Temperature Coefficient” or PTC produces an equilibrium between the electrical energy the ceramic material is fed and the head output it produces.

The Crossfire does not feature anything quite so exotic although the interior is pleasing to the eye. It does, however, lack the room that was a criticism of the old SLK, especially the seats that are not particularly comfortable. It has, though, more of a European feel to it than would otherwise be expected.

The big difference between the two models is really to be found underneath, whether it be the bonnet or the car itself. The Chrysler has to content itself with the 3.2 litre Mercedes V6 that develops 218 ps (160 kW) and 310 Nm (229 lb ft) of torque. This all-aluminium SOHC, 18-valve engine weighs just 140 kg and it light, smooth and fast revving. It delivers 90 per cent of maximum torque from 2,600 to 5,300 rpm and 98 per cent from 3,000 to 4,500 rpm. It has a top speed of 242 km/h (150 mph) and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.5 seconds.

The Chrysler Crossfire has to content itself with the 3.2 litre Mercedes V6 that develops 218 ps (160 kW) and 310 Nm (229 lb ft) of torque.

The six-cylinder engine in the SLK is a totally new development that develops 272 ps (200 kW) at 6,000 rpm and 350 Nm (258 lb ft) of torque from 2,400 rpm all the way to 5,000 rpm. Part of this performance enhancement has been achieved by incorporating a continual adjustment of the camshaft where the angles of the intake and exhaust camshafts can each be continuously adjusted by 40 degrees. This allows the valves to open or close at the optimum moment in any driving situation. The camshafts are controlled by electro-hydraulic vane-type adjusters positioned at the front end of the camshafts and controlled by four integral hydraulic valves. The intake camshafts are driven by a duplex chain while the exhaust ones are moved directly by the intake camshafts via a meshed pair of gear wheels. Other refinements include flow-optimised intake ports, valves with a shaft diameter of just 6 mm, compact combustion chambers for a high compression ratio of 10.7:1 (10.0:1 on the Crossfire) and the newly developed, two-stage variable intake manifold.

The cylinder head and crankcase are made of aluminium as are the pistons while the forged steel connecting roads have been lightened by around 20 per cent compared to those found on the Crossfire’s V6. The cylinder liners feature low-friction aluminium/silicon surfaces which are now some 500 grams per cylinder lighter than their conventional cast-iron equivalents. A balancer shaft between the two cylinder banks ensures exceptional smoothness.

A six-speed manual transmission is standard in the SLK 200 Kompressor and SLK 350 but the 7G-Tronic automatic transmission can be had as an option on the latter. A five-speed automatic box is available as an option on the 200 Kompressor. This same gearbox is also available as an option on the Crossfire which otherwise comes with a six-speed manual as standard.

The suspension and steering on the American car are familiar – fully independent front suspension using doubly wishbones mounted on the bodyshell with coil springs, gas-filled shock absorbers and a 25 mm anti-roll bar. Wheel travel is a 155 mm, which is quite high for a sports car. The five-link rear suspension and final drive unit are mounted on a subframe. Wheel travel is a generous 180 mm.

Although the Crossfire retains the fairly unsatisfactory recirculating ball steering, driver feedback and steering execution have been considerably improved over that found on the outgoing SLK. The new version, though, does not take any chances, though, and features rack-and-pinion steering for a far better driving experience. This is also due to the double-wishbone front suspension being replaced by a three-link axle featuring McPherson spring struts. The multi-link rear suspension, though, is carried over to this model.

All in all, despite the similarity between these two models, and perhaps even more between the Crossfire and the original SLK, they all have their own very distinct characters. Some will prefer the looks and overall dynamics of the SLK while others will warm to the American looks of the Chrysler. Unquestionably both are head-turners and have a presence on the road that many would wish to emulate. In all probability, the buying decision will be down to price, availability, servicing and residual values.