Spy Shots: Merc SLR McLaren convertible
We've known for a while that Mercedes was hard at work on a drop-top version of the McLaren SLR and now, courtesy of Car and Driver, we get to see it. Clear images they aren't, but there's no mistaking that long bonnet and those wide haunches as a lesser Benz.The spies were able to capture the SLR during a photo shot in the Canary Islands and judging by the pics, there's little to no change from the standard hardtop version. According to C&D, the roadster will get a cloth roof, rather than a folding hardtop, in an effort to cut down on costs and there's a possibility that the butterfly doors may need to be nixed.
Regardless, with 617 HP, a 3.7-second sprint to 60 and a top speed of 207 MPH, there's no doubt that this will be the fastest open air motoring experience available. The only problem we can see is trying to not look like the victim of a blow-dryer accident after a quick run to redline.
The when and where is still up in the air, but don't expect the SLR roadster to come in below a cool half a million dollars.
[Source: Car and Driver]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
garlinski 9:28AM (4/10/2007)
If there were ever a convertible that I truly wanted and could NEVER have.... that's one sweet ride.
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testa di cazzo 9:40AM (4/10/2007)
i'd much much rather have the lamborghini murcielago convertible than this ugly thing. wow, it just smacks you in the face with ugly...
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Yaktastic 9:44AM (4/10/2007)
boy, ever since that shot of the Audi RS8 carcass from yesterday i keep expecting all of these spy shots to end in tragedy. Looking at the posted pic here on autoblog i thought this was going to end up a story about the car veering off the road and on into oblivion.
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chuck goolsbee 10:29AM (4/10/2007)
I know I'm repeating myself, but my gawd... I hate the look of these wagon-wheel/rubber-band tire combos. It honestly looks like that car is riding on a flat tire.
I do NOT buy the argument that having a minimal sidewall improves handling/corvering/etc. If that were true then every race car on the planet except dragsters would be shod in thin black rubber bands around acres of spinning metal. This is just fashion, and I'll be thankful when actual tires come back.
--chuck (grumpy old man) goolsbee
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Michael Beatty 12:18PM (4/10/2007)
"According to C&D, the roadster will get a cloth roof, rather than a folding hardtop, in an effort to cut down on costs and there's a possibility that the butterfly doors may need to be nixed."
Gee, I'm glad that they're so concerned with cutting costs.
Oh wait, a hardtop MX5 comes in at about 5% of the price.. albeit also 25% of the horsepower :)
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James 2:15PM (4/10/2007)
#3:
Are you serious? How can you compare race tires to street tires? Race tires have more sidewall reinforcement, which compromises ride quality for stronger, and more roll-resistant sidewalls during hard cornering. Street tires do not have this type of reinforcement, since it would probably knock your fillings out. Lower sidewalls do help handling, however, a small amount of sidewall flex is favorable to help increase grip during hard cornering. Go to a racetrack someday and experiment with your tire air pressures and/or tire sizes. You will feel the difference between shorter sidewalls and tires with more/less air pressure.
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HotRodzNKustoms 12:48PM (4/10/2007)
I like it alot. A friend of mine said that if they make a roadster version he will buy one. I rather have a cloth top rather than a folding hard top, for some reason to me a cloth top lets everyone know even with the top up that you could if you felt like it have an unlimited amount of headroom. And I do not see the need to take away the butterfly doors, it is just a neat way of having your door open and has no impact on how sound this car is structurally.
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Lee Roy Brandon III 1:54PM (4/10/2007)
At the Frankfurt show in 1999, the SLR concept was shown as a roadster. It was so beautiful, I'm glad they're finally going to be out on the streets...
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m13/roybrandon/Maclaren%20SLR/IMAGE0265.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m13/roybrandon/Maclaren%20SLR/IMAGE0266.jpg
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FikseGTS 2:00PM (4/10/2007)
add some RENNtech mods and you've got a lot more power, 580 rwhp on this dyno graph, http://www.dragtimes.com/Mercedes-Benz-SLR-Timeslip-11747.html
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cluebyfour 2:53PM (4/10/2007)
the roadster will get a cloth roof, rather than a folding hardtop, in an effort to cut down on costs
LOL. Yeah, on a car that costs nearly half-a-million dollars, cutting costs is a real concern!
Maybe they're looking to avoid adding weight, which would make sense on a supercar.
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