Part 18: About the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

About the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a grand tourer car jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren, sold from 2003-2009. Due to the automatic gear box, front mid-engined arrangement, and its driving characteristics, some commentators classify the SLR McLaren as a GT, whose rivals would be vehicles such as the Aston Martin DBS V12 and Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe & Racecar of 1955, which was a modified Mercedes-Benz W196 F1 race car. Around 3,500 SLR McLarens were produced and sold before being discontinued. Numerous variations on the SLR McLaren exist, as well, including a "McLaren edition" in 2011 that had a pronounced, different body conversion.

The SLR McLaren is a heavy car at 3,900 lbs, but nevertheless its V8 engine can pump out a 0-60 mph time of 3.4 seconds, and the magazine Car and Driver got some ridiculous acceleration times, the fastest ever from a production car: a top gear acceleration of 30-50 mph and 50-70 mph times of 1.7 and 2.4 seconds, respectively. Despite the weight and engine's demands, the fuel economy on the SLR McLaren is better than both the lighter Lamborghini Murciélago and Gallardo.

An interesting note is that the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and the Porsche Carrera GT are seen as rivals: both cars are ridiculously fast and top performers, and the show Top Gear raced both cars to see which performed the best. While the Carrera GT won by just over a second, the SLR McLaren was found to be fractionally quicker in a straight line.

Triple A Says...

It's a Mercedes with some phoned-in bits from McLaren, I guess they just had to use their services since they supplied them with F1 engines. Other than that, it is one of the most phallic cars I have seen.