2008 MERCEDES-BENZ SLR MCLAREN ROADSTER

Details

This 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is one of 670 roadsters built for the world, and sold new in Newport Beach, CA. Premium options include carbon fiber, silver arrow leather and red brake calipers. The original 617hp supercharged 5.5-liter V8 engine provides power through a 5-speed transmission. Jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz, AMG and the McLaren Technology Centre, the SLR McLaren sought to bring something slightly different. The three companies had been involved together in Formula One

since 1995, and the idea of this working relationship leading to a limited-production supercar was greatly anticipated for quite some time. The Vision SLR concept was unveiled in 1999, just a few months after Mika Häkkinen had secured the partnership with its first Formula One Championship. The production version of the SLR followed for the 2004 model year. Rather than pursue all-out performance head-on, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren wanted a car that could easily outperform its competition while serving as a capable and luxurious high-speed Grand Tourer. For its part, AMG developed and assembled the model's 626hp supercharged V8 and 5-speed Speedshift automatic transmission. Sprinting from 0-60 mph takes just 3.8 seconds, leading to a quarter-mile time of just over 11 seconds and a 206-mph top speed. To rein in this prodigious speed, the SLR is equipped with Mercedes-Benz's Sensotronic brake-by-wire system, along with carbon-ceramic disc brakes and an automatic air brake. These systems working in unison can bring the car to a halt from 120 mph in less than 240 feet. Endowing the SLR with exceptional handling, engineers moved the V8 as far back as possible into the carbon-reinforced-plastic monocoque chassis, giving the car near-perfect weight distribution. To ratchet up the excitement of the SLR even further, the convertible roadster was introduced in 2007. McLaren-Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton helped publicize the new model. Just 670 examples of the SLR McLaren roadster were produced between August 2007 and May 2009. This example has traveled just 9,048 actual miles since new. Clean history documented by CARFAX.