The old SLK55 AMG was a half-brick in a handbag. Tasked with weaponizing Mercedes' cute hardtop cabriolet, the boys at Affalterbach simply flipped their recipe book open to a dog-eared page: apply shoehorn, insert massive V8, enjoy blunt-force trauma. Compared to the razor-edged charm of a Boxster, the SLK55 provided a cudgel with which to beat your favorite backroad to death. Loud. A little bit dumb. Fun.

The SLC43 is a completely different animal. It has two fewer cylinders, fifty-three fewer horsepower, and it isn't even a real AMG. Just as Maybach is now Mercedes-Maybach, a higher level of gloss applied to an S-class sedan, so too has Mercedes-AMG become a flavoring as well as a full meal. The SLC43 is tuned by AMG, but its twin-turbo V6 is a mass-produced unit, not a handbuilt heart wearing the signature of a master craftsman. Just pop the hood and see. No AMG plaque, only a red stripe on the plastic engine cover.

The afforementioned Red Stripe. Mercedes-Benz

At this point, the mob has assembled, and is setting about lighting torches and putting a really sharp edge on their tines of their pitchforks. How dare Mercedes try to pass this off as true AMG bratwurst when it contains nothing of die Rote Sau other than the squeal? But hold, good people, it's not all bad news.

The bark of the true AMG is gone, but the SLC43 still has some bite. Nothing can replace the soundtrack of the a naturally aspirated V8 – like steak night at a Rottweiler sanctuary – but the twin-turbo V6 has a character all its own. Stir it above 4000rpm and it sounds like bees are being fired out of the exhaust–huge, angry, sting-crazy bees.

Further, taking some weight off the nose of the SLC improves the handling of this compact but heavy little roadster. AMG has upgraded the suspension with larger steering knuckles and forged aluminum components in the rear. Negative camber is up at all four corners, and optional adaptive dampers are on offer. The brakes feature 360mm rotors up front and 330mm in the rear. Cars equipped with the Dynamic Handling package get a 10mm lower chassis, a limited-slip differential, the brake-assisted cornering of Curve Dynamic Assist, a Dynamic Select button to let you cycle through driving modes, and the variable ratio Direct-Steer system. The latter, as you might expect, is supposed to make handling more dynamic.

So, though it is not a true AMG, the SLC43 at least appears to have genuine sporting intent; it'll also run to 60mph in just a tenth of a second more than its V8-powered predecessor. If Mercedes is taking a more subtle and clever approach than the SLK55's previous bloody-minded bludgeoning, can we really fault it?

As a facelift of the SLK, the SLC has undergone very minor surgery. New headlights and taillights and grille let it blend cohesively into Mercedes' corporate look. The biturbo badges are new. The fender vents don't actually vent anything.

It's the same inside, with only minor changes to the Comand infotainment system, and a slightly larger seven inch display. The power folding hardtop is nearly unique in the segment (also offered by the BMW Z4), and Mercedes' ludicrously named Magic Sky Control gives you dimming control over a panoramic roof. The seats have vents to blow warm air on your neck. The SLC43 is dated inside, but it's still a pretty nice place to be.

Press the starter button and the V6 wakes up with an unremarkable six-cylinder thrum. With the top lowered, I set off from Nice along the coastal promenade. The engine feels flexible and torque-rich at low revs.

You'll find this 3.0L twin-turbo six showing up in various new entry level AMG products over the next couple of years. Here, it makes 367hp from 5500-6000rpm, and a healthy and accessible 384lb-ft of torque from 2000-4200rpm. Straight line passing power is good in standard mode, the car behaving much like a scaled-down SL550.

As the climb into the hills above Monaco turns sweetly switchbacked, the temptation arises to put the SLC43 in maximum attack mode and seek out the boasted-of dynamism. In Sport+, initial impressions are good. The turbo'd six spools rapidly from torque peak to maximum horsepower, and the nine-speed automatic upshifts with great rapidity. But as the brakes come on and speed bleeds off for the first corner, it emerges that a lack of a handbuilt V8 isn't really the SLC43's problem.

The pace is there, but a gleeful willingness is not. Depending on the road, the SLC43's various driving assists should help keep it glued to the rear bumper of a Jaguar F-Type with the supercharged V6. However, it is most emphatically not an answer to Porsche's roadster. The 6000rpm redline feels low, the nine-speed isn't as quick-witted on downshifts, and the chassis feels overtaxed as the road gets more technical. Come to think of it, the SLK55 had much the same issue. It too was reluctant to dance, but the charisma of the big V8 made a strong argument for the car as an anti-Boxster.

The SLC43 will likely sell in larger numbers than the SLK55. It is friendlier, more efficient, and nearly as quick empirically. It would make for a good trans-European touring companion. It is not an AMG, and that's probably okay for the majority of people. You, however, should probably buy a C63 instead.

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