Click above for high-res gallery of the current Mercedes SLK

While Porsche reportedly mulls the idea of a four-cylinder Boxster and Audi offers a TDI version of its iconic TT, Mercedes-Benz is now reportedly preparing to offer a diesel engine in its next-generation SLK.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Mercedes SLK55 AMG

It sits there, all tension and sinew, ready to pounce on lesser cars. Start it up and it barks with a clear V8 voice that thumps off the neighbor's house, setting them discreetly peeking from behind their lace curtains. This is an SLK? Oh yeah. No longer a blocky Benz with dwarfism, the SLK55 AMG ripples with muscle and delivers speed like a spin kick to the temple. A bad-ass Mercedes, indeed.

Apparently Mercedes-Benz will finally offer a glass roof on its SLK hardtop convertible, similar to the one fitted to the little coupe's big brother, the SL. The two-piece roof looks very similar to the SL's, with the only discernible difference from the standard SLK being a slightly tweaked C-pillar.

Mercedes-Benz CL500 4MATIC: click to view in high resolution