The Mercedes-Benz SLK is a compact sports car made by Mercedes-Benz in three generations; R170 launched in 1996, the R171 in 2004 and R172 in 2011.As one of the aboriginal avant-garde retractable auto convertibles, the SLK followed the 1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder and preceded added retractable hardtops such as the Peugeot 206cc, Lexus SC, Pontiac G6 and the Chrysler Sebring. The SLK Vario-roof was aboriginal apparent on the SLK II abstraction car at the 1994 Paris Motor Show. The car went on auction two years after in Europe, and in 1997 in the US. The SLK is congenital in Bremen, Germany.The appellation SLK derives from the company's architecture mission to actualize a auto that was at already sporty, ablaze and abbreviate — in German: Sportlich, Leicht und Kurz.