Racing-spec McMerc 722 at speed on the 'Ring
Mercedes' uber sports car, the McLaren SLR 722 GT, has been caught at the 'ring undergoing final testing for the 20-odd cars that are expected to be delivered to a very lucky few early next year. A pre-production model was spotted at the start of the month in Germany and this is likely to be the same car seen here.
According to Auto Motor und Sport, the new hyper-performance Mac Daddy managed to complete the notorious Nurburgring Nordschleife or 'Northern Loop' in a blistering 7m 38s, but apparently can go even faster. Driving on the test day was McLaren test pilot Chris Goodwin, who was forced to take it slower than usual because of problems with the transmission. Further tests will continue between the 20th and 24th of this month near the village of Le Castellet in France.
The car features the same 650hp supercharged V8 from the 'regular' SLR 722 but has been put through an extensive weight saving program, which sees almost 660 lbs. shed from the vehicle's curb weight. It's thought this new model has been developed as a homologation special for an upcoming FIA GT race car ,but no official word has been given.
[Source: Auto Motor Und Sport]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr. Oak 2:15PM (10/19/2007)
Sweet Mercy!! Since I will probably never be able to afford one of these, I have this fantasy of building a car to these exact specs.
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2004m3driver 2:15PM (10/19/2007)
Hell yeah I love that car wing and all. If I had that I would roll up next to ridiculously modded "rice" cars and be like "hey wassup my wing is bigger than yours plus its functional" then proceed to blast off into space.
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Ivan 2:25PM (10/19/2007)
It doesn't have the same automatic transmission, does it?
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catgirlshyla 2:46PM (10/19/2007)
"A pre-production model was spotted at the start of the month in Germany and this is likely to be the same car seen here."
Someone needs to spend time looking at the webcam at the Nurburgring. Luckily, someone at finalgear.com saw it:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a180/cesariojpn/31eea738.jpg
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Tommy 3:00PM (10/19/2007)
Jeremy Clarkson brought it up a lot time ago, saying that nowadays manufacturers are making "limited or suped up" editions of their exotic vehicles, by simply stripping them down (weight saving). In other words, you're paying more for less....
....either way I'd love to drive that car; SLR's roar is very unique and I like it
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Bob-o 3:57PM (10/19/2007)
660 lbs? So what's it weigh now, 4000 lbs? :P
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Khanh 5:24PM (10/19/2007)
I would love to see all the pics that Auto Motor Und Sport has compiled in their slideshow in a unique Autoblog gallery.. so I can save some pics of it; it looks pretty awesome. First thing I thought of when I saw the spoiler is McLaren F1 LM.
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Pouya 8:31AM (10/20/2007)
Given that the 722 GT is race car, extreme, and expensive, 7:38 is not impressive at all. Let's hope that time is significantly shortened. Such a time would make it slower than less expensive street legal cars such as the Pagani Zonda F Clubsport (7:27), Porsche Carrera GT (7:28), Porsche 997 GT2 (7:31), Pagani Zonda F (7:32), or the Nissan GT-R (7:35). I am not sure if the Koenigsegg CCR (7:34) is less expensive than the 722 GT, but is a street car and is quicker. The GT-R times will drop further as aftermarket tuners start modifying the GTR and laps are recorded on a dry track (that lap was recorded on a partially wet track). There are modified Porsches that already are significantly faster (see, e.g., the Edo Porsche 996 GT2 RS at 7:15).
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vice 9:17PM (10/19/2007)
"blistering 7m 38s" for the Nordschleife?
Geez, an $80k Nissan GT-R can do it faster with a 7:35.
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The Penguin 9:56PM (10/19/2007)
What part of
"but apparently can go even faster"
do you not understand?
dustin 12:11AM (10/20/2007)
The penguin: But it doesn't say how much faster. So if it can do 7:36 instead of 7:38, it's still slower. In any case, you would think a 650 hp "racing-spec" 722 SLR wouldn't post a ring time about the same as the GT-R. Which just goes to show that the GT-R is truly a super-bargain supercar.
Philometalist 5:20AM (10/20/2007)
Wow that just looks down right mean!
Why couldn't the GTR look more like that?
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HeyHuub 9:34AM (10/20/2007)
WHy does everyone believe the GT-R actually does 7:35?
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Grain 2:06PM (10/20/2007)
7:35,7:36, 7:40 even. Who cares? Just be happy that we can actually spend around 70k and hang with these big boys that cost double to triple the amount. Z06 and GTR, the ultimate "bang for buck" supercars. I respect them both.