Autoblog

It pains us to see a dead horse beaten so rigorously, but the folks at Mercedes have yet to stop. But then, they did paid a lot for that horse.

The SLR project that then-Daimler-Benz undertook in partnership with its F1 racing partner, McLaren, never went as well as hoped. Sales were disappointing, and although the car's performance put it into the upper echelons of autodom, it never succeeded at giving its competition a real run for their money. And at half a million bucks, it's a lot of money to run for.

Rather than cut their loses, Mercedes and McLaren have opted instead to turn out additional derivations. After the "standard" SLR coupe came the 722, which was widely derided for having ruined the ride with little additional benefit. A racing version, dubbed 722 GT, followed. Rumors circulated long ago that additional body-styles were under consideration – what are they talking about, a shooting brake? – but only the open-air version made it to production.

The SLR McLaren Roadster was revealed back in May, but this was our first chance to see one up close. Check out the gallery below for all the angles.