A blue arrow on wheels zooms past and before you can say ‘wow’, the twin tail lights disappear beyond the bend. The Mercedes SLK, a true-blue sports car from the Daimler Chrysler stable, has hit the Calcutta roads.

The two-door convertibles are priced at Rs 67 lakh. Arriving as CBUs (complete built-up units), they can be configured according to customer specifications.

Along with the sports car, the Mercedes SUV (sports utility vehicle) is also being rolled out, at an ex-showroom price of Rs 7 crore.

“The Calcutta market is ready for sports cars. There is a demand and we’ve already had two confirmed bookings for each model with two more in the pipeline,” says Interkrafts CEO Hiteshwar Singh.

An air bubble on the road, the Mercedes SLK is meant to sail over potholes and speed-breakers with superior ground clearance. “On Calcutta roads, these cars can give maximum driving pleasure,” assures Singh, the sole Merc dealer in town. In 22 seconds, the two-seater hard-top coupe converts into an open-top roadster at the press of a button. The electrohydraulic vario-roof moves backwards in a single motion and disappears into the rear of the car.

Along with standard safety features like NeckPro and airbags, the Mercedes SLK comes with additional rollover bars that prevent head impact. The “airscarf” is meant to keep the wind away from your face.

The ML 320 five-seater SUV, is a complete utility vehicle with aeromatic suspension raising the car by a clear 50 mm and the downhill steep regulation (DSR) helping it negotiate steep roads with excessive gradient. With its 7Gtronic engine, the fourth-generation diesel engine (320 CDI) boasts Formula One-like gear shifting.

With a three-month delivery schedule, bookings for both the SLK and M-class vehicles are open in town. Given the response to the S-Class launched last September — seven sold and six more booked — Singh is optimistic: “The Calcutta market is opening up and we are also having a roadshow in Bhubaneswar soon.”