It also refused to be unsettled by bumps in the road-an invaluable quality at the old 'Ring. Soft suspension helped its cause, although soft should be taken as a relative term. This SLK uses the same Bilstein shock absorbers with nine levels of adjustment that can be found on the company's C-Class conversion, although most road users probably wouldn't adopt the same settings for general use.
So there was some wallow, but only in the slowest corners when I went in too hot. You can forgive an inside front wheel lifting up, causing a brief moment of understeer followed by snap oversteer, when you've just taken a hairpin in third gear at more than 80 mph.
Around the rest of the circuit the car was unshakable, inspiring massive confidence in the faster corners and seemingly refusing to give up the battle for grip. Of course, the slick Dunlop tires wrapping 18-inch wheels can take some of the credit for the car's poise, but not all of it.
The SLK danced through a tight chicane that almost brought the E-Class I tested the same day to a stop in fourth gear, with just a slight confidence lift. The car simply stuck to the concrete surface and refused to let the back end slide out at all, and if the drivers knew the worst that could happen was gentle understeer, rather than a violent spin, it would certainly have inspired them to press on throughout an endurance race.
This is the key to Carlsson's racing success: The car is fast and easy to drive. It's all well and good having a super-fast machine, but if it's nervous at the limit, then tired drivers will struggle to exploit the potential pace and possibly even crash it. There were no such concerns with this SLK, which never threatened to spin, stall or step outside the realm of perfect etiquette during our time together. With some protection for the engine on the downshifts it would be the easier to drive than many, many road cars.
It's a racecar yes, but it's still a Carlsson Mercedes and that means even a hairdresser could drive it-although Hartge is unlikely to employ a team of those for next year's race.
DrivetrainLongitudinal front engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine3.2-liter V6, dual overhead cams, three valves per cylinder, superchargedMods: Carlsson ECU, exhaust
TransmissionSix-speed Getrag manual
SuspensionMods: Carlsson/Eibach springs, Bilstein dampers
BrakesMods: Carlsson four-piston calipers, 13.8-inch rotors (f), 11.8-inch rotors (r)
Wheels and TiresCarlsson, 9x18 inchDunlop racing slicks
ExteriorCarlsson front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser and wing
PerformancePeak Power: 400 bhpPeak Torque: 383 lb-ftTop Speed: 200 mph (est.)