Get ready to reorient yourself for a future without an SLK…

SINGAPORE — You read that correctly. Come 2016 you will no longer be able to buy a Mercedes-Benz SLK. But that’s because Merc is going to rename its cars, and not because it won’t be building a junior roadster any more. Phew.

Mercedes says it needs to overhaul is nomenclature system because by 2020 it will have 30 different models for sale, 11 of which won’t have any predecessors. These new cars will come in multiple variants, and of course there are all sorts of drivetrains planned: petrol, diesel, hybrid, electric, fuel cell, nuclear power and so on.

And short of inventing a new alphabet, the Germans have put their most logical hats on to come up with a new naming convention.

At the heart of the new naming system will be the core models: the A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, E-Class and S-Class. These letters will be used to “orientate” customers, says Merc. Then what comes next will provide some sense of scale and where the model fits in the family.

The new system kicks in next year, when Mercedes intends to update its SUV (or Sports Utility Vehicle) lineup. Er, we’ll let Mercedes pick up the story from here:

In the case of the model designations for the SUVs, in a tribute to the legendary G Class, all SUV models will in the future have the first two letters “GL” in their name. The “G” here denotes the car’s lineage. The “L” is a letter that appears time and time again over the history of Mercedes-Benz. It is a linking letter that makes the model designations easier to remember and easier to pronounce; one that is familiar from the legendary SL, for example, or from the more recent CLS and CLA. It is followed by the third letter, which indicates the relationship to the relevant core model series. In specific terms:

GLA              = GL A-Class
GLC              = GL C-Class; previously GLK
GLE               = GL E-Class; previously M-Class or ML
GLE Coupé    = GL E-Class Coupé
GLS               = GL S-Class; previously GL
G                   unchanged

The system for the 4-door Coupés is constructed along similar lines. The first two letters, “CL”, denote the origin, the third letter the link to one of the core model series: in other words CLA and CLA Shooting Brake, or CLS and CLS Shooting Brake.

From 2016 on the Roadsters will all include “SL” in their names to denote their origin, with the third letter again the link to one of the core model series. The SLK therefore becomes the new SLC. As in the case of the G, the SL retains its designation as hitherto, in recognition of its iconic status.

In a development paralleling that of the model series designations, the different types of engines will also be given new designations. These provide clear orientation and are also shorter than the designations used until now. The boot lids will in future feature lower-case letters, whose meaning is as follows:

As has been the case until now, there will be no suffix for the petrol models. The defining and established designation 4MATIC for our all-wheel-drive vehicles will remain unchanged and, indeed, will be celebrating its thirtieth anniversary next year. 

(In other words, take that, “Quattro”.)

Ok, everybody got that? It’ll probably take us a while, too, but if we can get used to an E 250 having a 2.0-litre engine (and not a 2.5-litre), we can get used to anything.