Certain cars encourage a response that is as routine and predictable as the reaction to a stoplight, and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster is one of those cars. This is what happens every time someone gets in one, irrespective of their age, sex, or nationality: she snuggles into the seat, looks into the footwell to make sure her feet are placed just so on the pedals, slides her hands around the steering wheel for a couple of seconds to find just the right position, snuggles into the seat again... and then she just sits there, staring off into the distance. She might flip the paddles once or twice, or check out the center console. Then it's back to the thousand yard stare at the wall in front of her. She gets her picture taken, notices the line of people waiting to do the same thing, and it's all repeated again and again. And for good reason – the SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster is topless testosterone-topped terrificality. 650 horsepower from a supercharged 5.5L V8 and a convertible soft top that'll stay put above 208 mph deserves the attention. You can check out the specs after the jump, or better yet, go straight to the gallery of high-res images below that we snapped in between the line of people waiting to sit in it.

They have got to be kidding. Another SLR derivative? Before the Mercedes-McLaren supercar speeds off into the horizon, it will have spawned no less than six different versions - including the original coupe, the Roadster, 722, 722 GT, the upcoming "Speedster", and this latest variant - if the latest reports are to be believed. We would have thought that the spied Speedster version would have been the last, but then spy shots surface of what appears to be a 722 Roadster.

This undisguised vehicle carries all the visual cues of the 722 edition coupe: the dark grey 19" forged alloys hiding red brake calipers over oversized discs, plus the carbon fiber lip spoiler and darkened taillight clusters. The convertible can be expected to carry the same 650-hp supercharged V8 as the 722 coupe, only with the nifty hard-soft top from the roadster. By the state of readiness evident from these spy shots, we'd venture that the 722 Roadster will appear before the Speedster. And we trust that will be the end of the SLR... until someone says otherwise, of course.

[Source: World Car Fans]

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]

We know that Mercedes used the SLR 722 badge on the SLR McLaren 722 Edition to honor the 1955 Mille Miglia-winning Mercedes-Benz 300SLR of Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson, but still. That car, wearing a big "722" on the doors, which indicated their 7:22am start time, managed to beat the favored Porsches and Ferraris back in the day. But people see a 722 on the label and somehow 650 hp doesn't seem good enough. Enter, supertuner Renntech.

Renntech takes the supercharged 5.5-liter V8 that resides in every SLR and adds some of its magic. This time it's a simple application of one of the company's upgraded intercoolers and a new intercooler pump. These revised units have twice the capacity of the stock coolers and reduce temperatures by a full 50 degrees. The result is horsepower that now hits the magic 722 mark. No price is listed for the conversion, but it sounds like it could be a real winner with the few customers lucky enough to have a 722 parked in their garage. We could do without the aftermarket wheels though.

[Source: MotorAuthority]