With all the endless talk about goofy-looking green vehicles that will save the world, it's nice to know there are still cars like the upcoming 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Speedster in the works.
Caught lapping the Nürburgring recently, this open-top homage to the 300 SLR of the mid-1950s foregoes sissy stuff like a roof and a windshield in a bid to shave weight, improve performance and just plain look tough.
The air-conditioning system and side windows have been tossed aside as well, and a good portion of the bodywork is made from carbon fiber. The total weight savings is said to be around 440 pounds compared to the SLR 722 coupe.
It's powered by the same 641-horsepower supercharged 5.4-liter V8 found in the other SLR models, but this prototype's exhaust sounds a little less restrictive. Mercedes insiders say the Speedster will top 218 mph and will rocket from zero to 186 mph in 26 seconds.
These same sources also say that only 75 SLR Speedsters are scheduled for production and none of them are headed to America — something about meeting air emissions standards or something boring like that. That said, we still expect at least one hedge-fund manager to fork over the necessary cash to get an SLR Speedster certified for U.S. roads. It looks like it would be worth the effort.
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Caught lapping the Nürburgring recently, this open-top homage to the 300 SLR of the mid-1950s foregoes sissy stuff like a roof and a windshield in a bid to shave weight, improve performance and just plain look tough.
The air-conditioning system and side windows have been tossed aside as well, and a good portion of the bodywork is made from carbon fiber. The total weight savings is said to be around 440 pounds compared to the SLR 722 coupe.
It's powered by the same 641-horsepower supercharged 5.4-liter V8 found in the other SLR models, but this prototype's exhaust sounds a little less restrictive. Mercedes insiders say the Speedster will top 218 mph and will rocket from zero to 186 mph in 26 seconds.
These same sources also say that only 75 SLR Speedsters are scheduled for production and none of them are headed to America — something about meeting air emissions standards or something boring like that. That said, we still expect at least one hedge-fund manager to fork over the necessary cash to get an SLR Speedster certified for U.S. roads. It looks like it would be worth the effort.
See new Mercedes Benz models
See future Mercedes Benz models
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