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Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
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The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is an Anglo-German sports car jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive, built in Portsmouth and the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. Daimler AG, owner of Mercedes-Benz, also owns 40% of the McLaren Group.
Due to the presence of the automatic gear box, front mid-engined arrangement and its driving characteristics lead some commentators to classify the SLR McLaren as a GT whose rivals can be considered to be e.g.
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Encyclopedia
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is an Anglo-German sports car jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive, built in Portsmouth and the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. Daimler AG, owner of Mercedes-Benz, also owns 40% of the McLaren Group.
Due to the presence of the automatic gear box, front mid-engined arrangement and its driving characteristics lead some commentators to classify the SLR McLaren as a GT whose rivals can be considered to be e.g. the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.
SLR stands for "Sport, Leicht, Rennsport" (sport, light, racing). Mercedes-Benz has stated that they will build 3500 SLRs in a span of 7 years, with an annual production of only 500 cars. The car's base price is GB£300,000 (approx. US$495,000 or €475,000, c. 2007).
History
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of 1955, based on the W196 F1 car, yet named after the road-going 300SL Gullwing. On 4 April 2008, Mercedes announced they will cease production of the SLR. The last of the coupes rolled off the production line at the end of 2007 and the roadster version is due to be discontinued in early 2009.
Brakes
The brake discs are carbon-ceramic and provide better stopping power and fade resistance than steel discs when operating under ideal working temperature. Mercedes-Benz claims these discs are fade resistant to . The front discs are internally vented and in diameter. 8 piston calipers are used. Rear discs are in diameter with 4 piston calipers. During wet conditions the calipers automatically skim the surface of the discs to keep them dry.
To improve braking performance there is an automatic air brake, when engaged the rear elevation angle of the rear spoiler is set to 65 degrees. The additional rear downforce in addition to the markedly increased aerodynamic drag increases peak deceleration ~90%.
Aerodynamics
The SLR features active aerodynamics; there is a spoiler mounted on the rear integral air brake flap. The spoiler increases downforce depending on its angle of elevation (angle of attack). At speeds above the spoiler/brake automatically raises to 10 degrees (15 in 722 edition), when demanded via the driver's switch, the elevation can be increased to 30 degrees (35 in 722 version) for increased rear downforce, at the cost of increased steady state drag. It costs a pricey £35,000!
Engine
The SLR sports a hand-built 5.4-litre , supercharged, all-aluminium, SOHC V8 engine. The cylinders are angled at 90 degrees with three valves per cylinder and lubricated via a dry sump system. The compression ratio is 8.8:1 and the bore and stroke is 97 millimetre (3.82 in) and 92 millimeters (3.62 in), respectively. The Lysholm-type twin-screw supercharger produces 0.9 bar (13 psi) of boost, the turbine rotates at 23000 revolutions per minute, and the air is cooled via two intercoolers. The engine generates a maximum power of at 6500 revolutions per minute and a maximum torque of at 3250 revolutions per minute.
Unlike most of its contemporaries, its engine is front-mid mounted. McLaren took the original concept car designed by Mercedes and moved the engine behind the front bumper, and around behind the front axle. They also optimized the design of the center firewall.
Performance
The car uses carbon fibre for its entire body construction in an attempt to keep the weight low. Despite CFRP materials the total curb weight is . The following tests have proven that the SLR can achieve a 0- in times less than the claimed 3.8 seconds and reach a top speed of .
Car and Driver achieved a 0- time of 3.6 seconds, and a quarter-mile time of 11.6 seconds at C&D suggests the times may be even lower if temperatures were lower. Car and Driver achieved top gear acceleration 30-50 mph and 50-70 mph times of 1.7 and 2.4 seconds, which are the fastest ever recorded by the magazine in a production car. The SLR also pulled 0.97 g on the skidpad.
Road and Track tested the car in their and reached from a standstill in 3.5 seconds. The 0 - sprint was achieved in 7.5 seconds and a quarter mile run was completed in 11.5 seconds at .
In June 2004 the SLR was tested at Nardo and performed the 0- exercise in 3.8 seconds, 0- in 11.5 seconds and 0- in 30.4 seconds. Their 400 metre and kilometre times were 11.5 seconds at and 20.6 seconds at respectively. They also reached its claimed topspeed .
Comparison
Despite its near 2-ton weight, the fuel economy is generally better than the lighter Lamborghini Murciélago, and even its lighter, less expensive, less powerful sibling, Gallardo. Still, on the Episode 1 from Season 11 of BBC car show Top Gear the Lamborghini Murciélago performed better than the SLR during a race on the track. Also, the same show put the SLR and the Porsche Carrera GT on its track, and after multiple attempts, the Porsche beat the SLR-McLaren by just over a second (1:19.8 vs. 1:20.9). However, on a separate race around their short track, the SLR was fractionally quicker than the Carrera GT. In a straight line, the SLR is quicker throughout the range.
Variants
722 Edition
A new version was introduced in 2006 called the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition. The "722" refers to the victory by Stirling Moss and his co-driver Denis Jenkinson in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR with the starting number 722 (indicating a start time of 7:22 a.m.) at the Mille Miglia in 1955.
The "722 Edition" boosts power to and of torque at 4000 rpm, posting a top speed of (just 3 km/h faster than the standard SLR). 19-inch light-alloy wheels were used to reduce unsprung weight, while modifications were also made to the suspension, with a stiffer damper setup and 10 mm (0.4 in) lower ride height introduced for improved handling. Larger diameter front brakes and a revised front air dam and rear diffuser were fitted.
Exterior changes, other than the larger black light-alloy wheels, include red "722" badging, hearkening back to the original 722 racer.
The SLR 722 can go from 0 to km/h in 3.6 seconds, in 10.2 seconds and in 21.4 seconds and can reach a top speed of .
Roadster
A roadster version of the SLR went on sale in September 2007 for £350,000 ($711,065 U.S.). It uses the same supercharged V8 AMG power plant as its coupé siblings, developing , to propel it to a top speed of and enable 0-100 km/h dash time of 3.8 seconds. However, being a convertible the roadster will have to be burdened with extra weight and this will affect performance and handling. The Roadster's roof, however, is made from a "newly developed material" and hence will not take the form of a folding metal arrangement, as is now common on many modern cars. Following a manual unlatching, it takes a mere 10 seconds to fold away electrically. According to an official document from Mercedes, the cabin of the roadster is capable of allowing conversation between driver and passenger up to a speed of with the roof retracted. It is unsure if McLaren will release another version of the roadster like it did with the SLR 722 version. This roadster is aimed to compete against other sports cars such as the Pagani Zonda F Roadster.
722 GT
The 722 GT is a tuned version of the SLR 722 which is developed for a one-make racing series. The cars are built by Ray Mallock Ltd. with approval from Mercedes-Benz. The car features new wider bodywork to accommodate OZ racing wheels. The front grill vents are removed and larger, free flowing air extractors sit on the hood and flank the side of the car. The rear now has a racing wing and diffuser.
Under the body, the car has shed 398 kg and reduced its dry weight to . The engine remains in relatively stock specification but now produces and at 1.75 bar (175 kPa) boost. Inside, the car is stripped out with only the essential functions being controlled from a carbon fiber binnacle. New carbon fiber door panels and full roll cage complete the transformation.
Renntech announced 21 SLR McLaren 722 GT would be available to the North American market exclusively through RENNtech, for €795,000 (1.2 million USD).
Stirling Moss
To conclude its collaboration with McLaren, Mercedes Benz released a speedster edition of the SLR, named SLR Stirling Moss, with production from July to December 2009. Inspired by the legendary 300 SLR, the Stirling Moss will be an open top sports car, no roof and no windows. The car will be approximately lighter than the regular model. The top speed is higher than the standard car at and will go from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds. The production run is limited to 75 pieces.
American Sales
| US Calendar Year | Sales |
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| 2003 | n/a | | 2004 | 45 | | 2005 | 200 | | 2006 | 141 | | 2007 | 104 | | 2008 | 106 |
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