Modern Classic: Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

The SLR was created via a union between Mercedes-Benz and McLaren. Photos: Mercedes-Benz

We’re welcoming back this series with an unusual car that some say is one of the world’s most forgotten supercars!  

Saying it’s the precursor to the beautiful Mercedes SLS and the modern-day GT AMG (soon due for replacement), isn’t really doing it justice. The SLR was the real racing car in GT guise and well ahead of its time. 

It was also made famous by Paris Hilton owning one, with this classic shot of Paris, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan all curled into it after a night of clubbing (see below).  I noticed Paris’ particular car in the press recently with the new owner, US entrepreneur Ed Bolian, reporting its 34,000km service cost an eye-watering US$34,565 (NZ$49,775).

So let’s delve a little more into the famed Mercedes-Benz SLR Mclaren. 

It came into existence in 2002 and was sold between 2003 and 2010 in low numbers with just over 2100 being produced over this time.  

The SLR was created via a union between Mercedes-Benz and McLaren, which also kicked off their joint F1 program.     

The Vision SLR which made show-goers gasp in 1999 in its concept car form at the North American Motorshow, with its 5-litre supercharged V8, producing 416kW culminated in the road going SLR (Sport Licht Rennsport) for a November 17, 2003 release. 

The road car had a supercharged 5.4-litre V8, that made 460kW with a mid-engine layout.  

The road car had a supercharged 5.4 litre V8, that made 460Kw with a mid-engine layout.

The cockpit was swathed in carbon fibre and it was the same for every body panel, plus it had carbon-ceramic brakes (one of the first production cars to have this).  It was also one of the first production cars to have a front crash structure made of carbon fibre. 

It was fast! It could hit 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and go on to hit an incredible 334km/h. It ran via a five-speed torque convertor automatic. 

Some quirks of the SLR included the brake lights which glowed at double their normal light to warn drivers behind in moments of hard braking. The air brake saw a rear spoiler pop up 10 degrees on the boot, although this could be adjusted to 30degrees for better rear downforce. Since the vehicle contains a flat underbody as well as a rear diffuser, there wasn’t room for a conventional rear exhaust, so this came out under the front door!  

The SLR was also fitted with a sensor that measured the angle of the sun’s rays, as well as their luminosity and intensity, to make sure the car’s air-conditioning system kept the cabin cool. The unique scissor doors opened up, with no electric assistance, except a pull handle.  

The cabin was covered in black leather and the roof was swathed in Alcantara. The racing seats were made from one piece of carbon fibre. These and more were unique features of the SLR.    

It could hit 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and go on to hit an incredible 334km/h.

While storage was a minimum the front passenger gained a storage box under the floor and there was storage behind the back seat.  

Drivewise, whilst fast, motor testers remarked the ride was hard. Back then the adaptive suspension technology wasn’t in existence, and the SLR had normal springs and dampers. 

Apart from the “standard” 1693kg coupe, other variations including the 722 Edition (1649kg), the 722S convertible (an extra 57kg on top of the coupe), and a topless SLR Stirling Ross Speedster (1493kg), made it to the market.  The 722 editions had a 478kW (641hp) engine that took the 0 – 100km/h sprint down to 3.1 seconds.   

There was also the 722GT (only 1300kg) which got an incredible 500kW engine.  Only 75 of the Stirling Moss were built and were only sold to existing SLR owners! 

The SLR’s development costs doubled its projected US$200,000 price to more than US$400,000, which put it well above the Bentley Continental GT and Aston Martin DB9. 

Mercedes and McLaren hoped for 3500 sales per year, with a minimum target of 500 cars, but on 4 April 2008 they announced production would finish by the end of 2009. 

The SLR ended up as a collision between Mercedes Benz’ luxury philosophy and McLaren’s racing pedigree, which is what makes it so unique and well ahead of its time.

It was sold between 2003 and 2010 with just over 2100 produced.