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Mercedes-Benz SLK on Huge Wheels Doesn’t Want To Be Called a Donk

Is it a tractor? Is it a crossover? Nah, it’s just a shi**y modded car, made famous by Reddit’s eponymous thread. Its owner is probably proud of the build, because those wheels alone are worth more than this old Mercedes-Benz SLK.
Mercedes-Benz SLK Donk 6 photos
Photo: Reddit | WhyOfCourseICan
Mercedes-Benz SLK DonkMercedes-Benz SLKMercedes-Benz SLKMercedes-Benz SLKMercedes-Benz SLK
We don’t know the size of them, but by the looks of it, they might have 30 inches in diameter or so. The shiny alloys, hugged by thin rubber, have likely ruined the ride of the roadster, because it wasn’t that comfortable to begin with. Moreover, they also required some body chopping in order to fit under the arches.

A custom paint job (or a wrapping, who knows) combines black and white hues, separated by a custom line. Purple accents were added to the front fenders, hood, and A pillars, and the bumper trim was chromed, probably to match the wheels. The owner wasn’t ready to call it a day just yet, because they also swapped the old grille for a newer one, with two horizontal slats, separated by the big three-pointed star badge in the middle.

Getting in and out of this first-gen Mercedes-Benz SLK is probably quite a challenge, because in spite of the elevated ground clearance, which is more than you’d get in most SUVs today, it does not feature any running boards. Surely they might ruin the exterior styling of this R170 even more, but it’s not like it can win a beauty contest anyway.

Strangely enough, we would swap those huge alloys for ones a bit smaller, albeit wrapped in chunky all-terrain rubber, and see what the SLK is made of in a very challenging environment. The arduous course would probably get the best of it, but at least it can go out like a hero, kind of like a tribute to the deceased model that left production for good last year.
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About the author: Cristian Gnaticov
Cristian Gnaticov profile photo

After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s.
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