With improved handling dynamics the SLK is no longer a hairdresser’s car

This is one of those moments that will remain etched in my memory forever. What looked like individual rays of light shine through the few tufts of perfectly formed cotton clouds that are hanging in the sky above my head, mimicking the type of imagery one summons when they try to picture what the heavens above might look like. The reflection fragments off the Pacific Ocean to my right, and shines into my sunglass covered eyes. The smell of salt water fills my nostrils as the smooth guitar of Carlos Santana’s ‘Black Magic Woman’ simultaneously permeates my ears. The cooling breeze that hits my skin suppresses the heat of the California sun as I try and absorb the incredible scenery that surrounds me. It doesn’t get more perfect than this, and I am just getting started. I have just driven my first kilometre or so of the almost mythical Pacific Coast Highway along the shores of ultra exclusive Malibu beach in a new Mercedes SLK 55 AMG, but before I continue the story let me give you some background on how I ended up here.

A few months earlier, back at the evo Dubai Media City headquarters our esteemed Editor-in-Chief Lord Saxon had just returned from Los Angeles, fresh from attending the world launch of the new Mercedes SL. I ask him how his trip was, and am expecting a typically nonchalant response along the lines of ‘it was ok’, accompanied by an indifferent shrug of the shoulders. Instead I get an unusually long-winded and effusive reaction. After briefly singing the praises of the SL63, he goes on to describe the incredible route that is the Pacific Coast Highway – at length – describing it as one of the great drives and mumbling on about how I had to do it sometime. A few days later I bumped into Mercedes Middle East’s charming PR manager Julian Hopkins, and after recounting Jon’s enthusiasm, I expressed my jealousy for not having been there myself. In response he mentions that if I‘m ever in that part of the world he would be happy to arrange for me to borrow one of their cars so that I can experience it for myself. Little did he know I would take him up on that offer.

Fast forward a couple of months and I am planning a post summer vacation. I give Julian a call and remind him of his generous offer and a couple of days later he confirms that there will be an SLK 55 AMG waiting for me when I got there. While not as flash as big brother SL the SLK is still a drop-top with a 3-pointed star on its bonnet, making it the epitome of a California car. Not to mention the fact that there is a 5.5-litre naturally-aspirated V8 from the engine doctors at AMG that pumps out 360bhp and 375lb ft nestling under its bulging bonnet. Combined with the improved handling dynamics and more masculine styling, the SLK is no longer a hairdresser's car, and I am looking forward to my time with it.

The next step was to plan my route. As the PCH stretches over 1000km in length and is interrupted for significant distances by Highway 101, that takes it inland, my aim is to map out a trajectory that will maximise my time travelling along the coast. After numerous visits to Google maps and countless hours researching PCH blog sites I settle on leaving downtown LA and heading towards Malibu where I would pick up California State Route 1 (the official name for the PCH) and follow it all the way South towards San Diego.

Upon my early morning arrival into LAX I head towards the multi story car park where the SLK 55 awaits me.  Walking up to the car my immediate reaction is that it looks pretty good in electric blue, and that it doesn’t look all that different from the pre-facelift model. According to Mercedes’ press pack the front apron has been restyled with a more pronounced V-shape, there is a modified Mercedes star, enlarged air dams, new fog lamps, headlamps and exterior mirrors and the 18in multi spoke rims are now painted titanium. So nothing particularly earth shattering there, but it all adds up to a surprisingly cohesive and purposeful look. I plug Malibu into the navigation as my destination and proceed to make my way through the sprawling metropolis that is Los Angeles. Approximately 40 minutes later I swap urban drear for the scene I describe above at the start of this story. The contrast is marked making the impact of the coastal backdrop even more breathtaking.  There are road signs proclaiming Malibu to be ‘27 miles of scenic beauty’ and so far I strongly agree. I head towards Zuma beach where I rendezvous with David Newhart my photographer for the day. Other than being a highly well regarded photographer, David is also a California resident and will prove to be a very useful guide on my PCH journey.  After completing some scenery shots in a near-by elevated location we hit the road and head South down the PCH towards Santa Monica Beach and its world famous pier. Cruising at a steady 50kph to allow my brain to process the information that my eyes are sending to it, we arrive at the pier and its colourful amusement park. We stop for about half an hour for David to do his thing, and for me to top up on nicotine. From our raised vantage point I can see several kilometres down the shoreline and the view is straight out of Baywatch, dotted with pale blue wooden life guard towers I half expect to see Pamela Anderson running by in her trademark one piece red bathing suit. No such luck today though.

Back in the SLK we continue on Route 1, which is now taking us back inland, before re-emerging with the ocean at Sunset beach. This period of less distracting scenery allows me to pay more attention to the AMG Benz. While I would call it more of a hotrod than an out and out sports car, that doesn’t detract much from its appeal. The SLK 55 has plenty of character and is actually a bit on the rough side, the ride is extremely rigid, and mated with the thinly padded bucket seats is not the most soothing of automobiles. Nevertheless, it doesn’t fail to entertain. How could it, with the muscle car exhaust burble it puts out while cruising along. Push the throttle to the carpet and the little roadster surges forward with neck straining acceleration. The 7-speed gearbox works very well when left in automatic, but strangely struggles to keep up when using the aluminium paddles for manual shifts. While it doesn’t really suit the objective of my trip, I can’t resist switching the traction control off and being a bit of a hooligan, the SLK will burn rubber endlessly if you want it to; although it is surprisingly difficult to unstick the rear of the car without being brutal with your applications while attacking a bend. I had better behave myself though if I want to remain under the radar of the notoriously tough LAPD.

‘While it doesn’t suit the objective of my trip, I can’t resit switching the traction control off and being a bit of a hooligan’

Back in view of the water we head out of Los Angeles County and are travelling quickly through Orange County, home of Huntington Beach. If you were to visualise the California surfing culture you wouldn’t be surprised if this was the place that spawned it. Surfers in wetsuits carry their boards everywhere you look and cute beach blondes are a dime a dozen. We stop for a spot of lunch on the beach and while we dig into our meal a WWII Mustang fighter plane flies by no more than 100 metres off the sea. A huge vintage plane buff, David can’t believe what he is seeing and is annoyed he has left his camera in the car.

Back on the road we continue to snake along the coast taking in scene after scene of majestic beauty. Every 10 minutes or so I find myself gasping in wonderment at what lays ahead of me as the road dips and dives above the Pacific, waves crashing against the cliffs below us. The last time I was surrounded by such overwhelming beauty was also on the Pacific Ocean except it was on the other side of the world in New Zealand. After we criss cross through Laguna Beach, we reach San Clemente where we are forced onto the San Diego Highway. The reason is we are now entering the restricted area of Camp Pendelton Marine Corp Base, which goes on for kilometres on end. The twin domes of a nuclear plant to our right give the area a foreboding atmosphere. Eventually we emerge from the military zone and continue along Highway 5 to be greeted with the sight of downtown San Diego in the distance. We bypass the city centre and take the exit towards Coronado, which will be our final destination today. We park the SLK and retract the folding roof for the last time, and hurry to a terrace bar just in time for a drink as the sun sets over Tijuana minutes from the Mexican border that lies across the bay in the distance. The perfect end to a perfect day, and in my head I am already planning my next journey along the PCH.

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