Mercedes SLR McLaren celebrates 20th anniversary with supercar show (11 photos)

Before Mercedes and McLaren became rivals, two companies teamed up to create a unique supercar that is still are remembered fondly. We are talking about the Mercedes SLR McLaren, which in turns 20 next month.





Although it is hard to believe that two decades have passed since how the car debuted at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show, the SLR worth remembering as it was the first model assembled in McLaren Technology Center in Woking.

Mercedes and McLaren have had a successful partnership in Formula 1, thanks to which they won four world championships between 1995 to 2009. Given this success, it is not surprising that Mercedes turned to McLaren to help them launch a production version of the SLR concept Vision, shown at the 1999 Detroit Auto Show.

The first prototype was produced by a team of former Formula 1 mechanics. According to representatives of McLaren, the shape and style of the car were as close as possible to the requirements of Mercedes, and the design, expressed Vision SLR concept.

The car had a carbon fiber body, doors, hood and monocoque. fibers. In addition to significant weight loss measures, the SLR was distinguished adaptive rear wing that could also function as air brake.

Power was provided by a 5.5-liter supercharged V8 from Mercedes-AMG. 617 hp engine and 780 Nm connected to 5 automatic transmissions and allowed the car to accelerate to 100 km/ h. in 3.8 seconds. When you press it could eventually reach a top speed of 335 km/h.

That being said, the most iconic SLR has to be the Stirling Moss version. edition. Designed to last, this model inspired by the 300 SLR version that Moss won the Mille race Miglia 1955. Special version without windshield released limited edition of 75 cars and was equipped with a modernized V8 engine with 641 hp