Vehicle Description
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 H�kkinen 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 9,100 actual miles since new. Clean
history documented by CARFAX.