Monday, April 06, 2009

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren - Sepang F1 Malaysia Grand Prix

Every boy's "dream" supercar, the SLR, was on display at this year's Mercedes-Benz tent. Droooool! Check out the side-exhaust outlets, how cool!

Remember 2008? Last year's "icon car" at the tent was a Mercedes C63 AMG , this year's took the Merc brand to another level!


Wikipedia ... The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (or C199) 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).




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 1,768 kg (3,898 lb)... the SLR can achieve a 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in times less than the claimed 3.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 334 km/h (208 mph).


Would you believe Wikipedia even notes the SLR's US Calendar Year Sales?
2004 = 45
2005 = 200
2006 = 141
2007 = 104
2008 = 106

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