All that’s missing is a mysterious masked man with a dark cape at the wheel, and this Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster could be ready for its next mission. The high-performance sports car of the 199 model series from 2007 appears raring to go in the current special “Youngtimer” exhibition at the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Its guest appearance is a first: never before has the Museum displayed a production Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
Muscular tension in every detail of the bodywork and a paint finish as dark as the night sky characterise the appearance of the SLR McLaren. Crystal Covellin Blue metallic is the name of the paint finish, whose particularly large entrained particles ensure a spectacular depth effect. It is fittingly presented on the “Supersonic” theme island of the special exhibition, together with two Mercedes-Benz icons which are also painted in dark colours: the Mercedes-Benz 500 E (W 124) power saloon and the 190 E 2.5 Evolution II (W 201) pose right next to the Roadster. The latter’s racing version had great success in the DTM in the early 1990s.
The Roadster only bears the letters SLR on the rear – without the additional sequence of numbers that normally refers to the engine displacement at Mercedes-Benz. The abbreviation stands for “Sport Leicht Rennsport” and is a homage to the motorsport tradition of Mercedes-Benz. The 300 SLR racing sports car (W 196 S) was the star of the 1955 World Sports Car Championship and is closely related to the W 196 S Formula 1 racing car of the time. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, built in five variants between 2004 and 2009, also made use of Formula 1 technology: the super sports car was developed in cooperation with McLaren, a Formula 1 partner of Mercedes-Benz since 1995.
The design of the SLR McLaren Roadster references various sporting legends in the history of Mercedes-Benz. With its arrow-shaped front, the super sports car is reminiscent of the then current Silver Arrows from McLaren-Mercedes. These won in the premier class of motor racing in 1998 and 1999 (in both years the Drivers’ World Championship for Mika Häkkinen, as well as the Constructors’ World Championship for McLaren-Mercedes in 1998) and in 2008 (the Drivers’ World Championship for Lewis Hamilton). The side-mounted exhaust pipes ahead of the doors and the air brake at the rear are reminders of the historic 300 SLR racing sports car. Finally, diamond-shaped engine exhaust vents with narrow fins are reminiscent of the 300 SL (W 198) production sports car from 1954. The twin-headlight front section follows the design idiom which was successfully introduced with the 210 model series in 1995 and reinterpreted with the 203 model series in 2000.
A high-tech body lies beneath the perfect finish of the hand-painted super sports car. For the first time in a Mercedes-Benz production vehicle, the SLR McLaren used the carbon-fiber composite material CFRP (carbon-fiber reinforced plastic) familiar from racing car design. The complete bodyshell with chassis, monocoque passenger cell, doors and bonnet was made from this modern material. The result: the SLR McLaren weighed around 30 per cent less than a comparable front mid-engined sports car with a steel body. The vehicle also offered a high level of passive safety thanks to the very rigid passenger cell in combination with six airbags, belt tensioners and belt force limiters. One of the highlights was the electro-hydraulic braking system SBCTM with heavy-duty brake discs made of a carbon-fiber reinforced ceramic material.
Anyone taking to the road or track in the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren can fully concentrate on sporty driving. This is ensured by the cockpit design with two analogue dial instruments showing the road speed and rpm. The characteristics of the automatic transmission are modified using two large rotary controls – from Comfort or Manual to a very sporty set-up. After starting the engine, the start button elegantly disappears under a silver-colored flap on the knob of the selector lever. The radio with navigation function can be concealed behind a CFRP flap with “SLR” lettering. The rest of the interior design is marked by high-quality surfaces including carbon-fiber, aluminum and the “Silver Arrow” leather specially developed for the SLR McLaren.
Facebook Conversations