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The latest news coming out from the upcoming 2011 New York International Auto Show in late April is that Mercedes-Benz is planning three worldwide and three North American production debuts. The three world premieres include a never before seen concept model and two AMG cars, the 2012 C63 AMG Coupe that we’ve already showed you, and another one which has not yet been revealed.

While we can only speculate on the unnamed concept model, it is very likely that the AMG production car is the SLS AMG Roadster as it was recently teased in the German firm’s SuperBowl commercial.

As for the North American motorshow debuts, these are new 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK350, C-Class Coupe, and C-Class (the latter was shown at a special media event on the sidelines of the Detroit Show in January).

After Monday’s release on the facelifted C-Class range, Mercedes-Benz today also published a slew of photos of its brand-new 2012 SLK hardtop roadster that goes on sale in Europe at the end of this month, with the U.S. launch to follow in June.

The third-generation of the SLK keeps the two-piece folding hardtop of its predecessors but gets a fresh design with styling cues from both the SLS AMG and the new CLS. It also comes with as a new range of fuel-efficient engines, including a 1.8-liter force-fed four-cylinder with either 184HP or 204HP, and a 3.5-liter V6 delivering 306HP in Europe and 302HP in North America.

Other highlights include the addition of the panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL, which switches to light or dark at the touch of a button, and the new COMAND system with 7-inch color display and central controller. Hit the jump for the complete gallery that also includes sketches and photos of the development prototypes like the one pictured above.

In an exclusive pre-game release and following a behind-the-scenes version that we showed you on Friday, Mercedes-Benz has published an extended cut edition of its Super Bowl XLV commercial called 'Welcome'. With this ad, the German automaker 'welcomes' four new additions to its range including the next generation SLK roadster and CLS 63 AMG, as well as two never before seen (at least not officially) models, the SLS AMG Roadster and the C-Class Coupe. The quartet of new Mercedes-Benz cars can be seen towards the end of the video, which is posted for your viewing pleasure after the break.

Continuing our online stream of the automotive-related ads of the Super Bowl XLV, we now have a trio of teaser spots from Mercedes-Benz, which will be making its first advertising appearance at the game. According to the German automaker, four new models will be featured in the ads, with two of them making their world debut in the 60-second-long spot called 'Welcome'. You can watch the two teaser spots plus the making of the 'Welcome' commercial right after the break.

It might not be a widely known fact, but strictly speaking, the Mercedes SLK roadster has a 55-year-old pedigree. Allow us to explain. When the German automaker presented the first SLK concept study in 1994, it was continuing the firm's small roadster tradition which stated back in 1955 with the 190 SL.

If you're tired of ogling the same 50 second clip of the 2012 Mercedes SLK published at launch, we have some good news for you as the Stuttgart automaker has released some fresh footage of its roadster model, filmed both on the road and the track.

The third generation of Merc's roadster comes with a two-piece foldable metal roof top and a choice of a force-fed 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine available in two states of tune, or a 3.5-liter V6 motor. In Europe, the 2012 SLK will be available for order starting from next week, while U.S. sales will begin this summer. Click here for more details or follow the jump to watch the videos.

Over the past year, numerous scoops and a major leak, accompanied by several official releases, have shed light on many details on the 2012 Mercedes SLK. In fact, we were expecting the German maker to bring the third generation roadster to the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, ahead of its projected March debut. Even though that never happened, today, Mercedes finally released the last pieces of the SLK puzzle.

Claimed to offer a 25% increase in fuel economy compared to the previous model, in Europe, the SLK will be available with three engines, all of them featuring direct injection and stop/start systems.

Filling in the base model's shoes is the SLK 200 BlueEfficiency variant, powered by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder powerplant, capable of 184 hp. Mated to a seven-speed 7G-Tronic Plus automatic transmission, the four-pot needs just 6.1 liters of gasoline per 100 km (38.6 US mpg) in the combined cycle. The SLK 200 sprints to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7 seconds and has a top speed of 237 km/h (147 mph).

While looking for the designs of the Smart Roadster model we showed you in our previous post, we stumbled upon these drawings of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz SLK used for trademark filings. Being that an official video of the 2012 SLK has already been leaked online (you can watch it after the jump if you missed out), these pictures simply offer some additional -and unobstructed- views of the roadster model with the retractable hardtop.

There’s nothing wrong with using your assets, so we don’t blame Mercedes-Benz for trying to build some hype around the upcoming 2012 SLK by inviting Formula 1 pilot Nico Rosberg to take the hardtop roadster for a spin. However, the entire happening feels much too scripted, from the way the camera ducks just when the front fascia is almost revealed to what Rosberg says. Luckily, we already know what the German roadster looks like, so we won’t shed unnecessary tears. The highlight of the video is clearly the demonstration of how the Magic Sky Control panoramic roof works. Hit the jump to watch the clip. Read more »

WikiLeaks and Julian Assange aren't the only ones spilling documents and data all over the net. Today, an official promotional video of the all-new third-generation 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster showed up on Youtube. Not surprisingly, the French language film was pulled off Youtube pretty quickly, but not before we managed to get these screenshots and all the valuable information it contained.

Looking at the video, we can tell that, even though the new SLK's silhouette remains familiar, there are plenty of new details and a crisper styling for the body which brings to mind the larger SL model. Notable changes include the new CLS-inspired front grille and the air vents on the front fenders.

Mercedes-Benz has published a bevy of pictures of its next-generation SLK hardtop roadster during endurance testing in the heat of Death Valley to show off the upcoming model's panoramic glass-roof with Magic Sky Control [MSC].

Driving with the top down is not always an option. There might be clear blue skies, but temperatures could be also very low. Other times the car's interior gets way too hot if it has a panoramic glass roof. Either way, your drive is ruined.

And this is where the Magic Sky Control system comes into the picture. A roughly 2,000 euro (US $2,772) option for the next generation SLK, the MSC is, in essence, a panoramic roof that can be made either transparent or darkened, just by pushing a button.