Mercedes seeks to widen customer base with AMG SLC 43

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz aims to appeal to a wider set of buyers with its most recent launch of the AMG SLC 43 roadster in India as the vehicle is priced much lower than the car it replaces, the SLK 55 AMG.

“With the AMG SLC 43, we can interest a completely new set of customers that were so far not in the income bracket to buy an SLK 55,” Roland Folger, managing director, Mercedes Benz India told Autocar India.

“In addition, we have managed to get into an engine segment which is lower than 3.0-litres with the SLC 43 and pass cost benefits to the customers. That’s why this vehicle is interesting for us,” Folger added.

Priced at Rs 77.5 lakh, the SLC is a facelift of the SLK 55 AMG, which was launched at a price of Rs 1.26 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi). The company has managed to price the SLC 43 at a more affordable rate by taking advantage of the tax-breaks on vehicles powered by sub-3.0-litre engines costing below US$ 40,000 CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) which as per the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) are taxed 60 percent as against 100 percent for larger cars.

The AMG SLC 43 has lost two cylinders, gained two turbochargers and makes 48hp lesser than the 55. But the V6 powered SLC 43 still manages to deliver a similar level of performance as the V8 powered 55 with a claimed 0-100kph time of 4.7sec, just 0.1sec less than the claimed 4.6sec of the SLK 55. In fact, it comes with Merc's latest nine-speed 9G-Tronic automatic transmission.

The AMG SLC 43 goes up against the likes of the BMW Z4 roadster, and the upcoming Porsche 718 Boxster.

The ’43’ nomenclature models sit between the regular Mercedes-range and fully fledged AMG sportscars. Earlier known as the AMG Sport globally as it was introduced more than a year ago to rival the likes of BMW M Sport and Audi’s S range, the carmaker has now decided to reposition the models as Mercedes-AMG 43.  

“The 43 range will mean a lot more customers will see Mercedes with a different aspect. Suddenly we are not the old guy’s car anymore, we are young, attractive, sexy, appealing and we have street credibility and also racing credibility,” Folger said.