AUTOCARS COLECTION 2011

We love it when automakers go through the trouble of releasing their own spy shots. Our spy photographer friends, however, could easily see this as their own hard work being done for them. 

In any case, what we have here is a brand new set of photos of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz SLK testing in the Death Valley heat, prepping for its debut in 2011 (Geneva Motor Show, perhaps?).

One of the new features that Mercedes-Benz will debut on the 2012 SLK is its Magic Sky Control roof. This glass-paneled hardtop contraption can automatically be tinted to control how much light shines through the roof in an effort to keep the interior cooler on bright, sunny days when the top isn’t down.

We’d expect this sort of technology to make its way onto the Big Daddy SL roadster after the SLK’s launch, and could even be used on side windows for the rest of Merc’s product line.