Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster

Motoring Channel Staff - 7/May/2007

Woking, England — Taking the supercharged V8 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren range to three models is the new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster, which will be available in Europe and the United States from September 2007. 

As Mercedes' flag-ship model, the SLR creates an important halo effect for the German automakers other performance cars, and the new Roadster model will bolster this further with its hard-to-ignore folding roof and gull-wing doors.

But the best feature of the new car? Conversation will still be possible at well over 200km/h on open-air journeys thanks to the car's highly developed 'aeroacoustics'.

Linking all the super car thrills of what is the fastest automatic transmission equipped car in the world with top down motoring, the new Roadster model joins the standard Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and the 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLR 722 Edition.

The Roadster model is for the driver who wants to show off not only his car, but also his hairstyle and choice of eye wear, and it also gives the low-volume super car range a sophisticated new 'high style' model. Interestingly however, the new model won't feature a standard metal folding roof but employs carbon fibre for the roof, assuring its status as a bespoke dream car affordable by only society's elite.

Like it's fixed-roof sibling, the new SLR McLaren Roadster displays a number of design cues pioneered by the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, such as the wide gull-wing doors, huge side vents, and the side-mount exhaust pipes. The arrow-shaped nose of the SLR Roadster is likewise a visual reminder that much of the car's technology comes from the ideas developed by McLaren-Mercedes in its Formula One race cars.

Sadly for Australian super car aficionados, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster will no be coming Down Under. "Unfortunately, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster, like its coupé sibling, will not be offered to Australian customers as it is only produced in left-hand drive," explained the Mercedes Car Group's manager corporate communications, Peter Fadeyev.

Along with a lightweight body shell made from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (or CFRP), making the vehicle an exception among high-performance convertibles, the complex carbon-fibre technology ensures that the car has an extremely high occupant safety cell and according to Mercedes-Benz it also has a degree of torsional stiffness that is rare in the open-top vehicle world (higher torsional stiffness usually improves a car's handling).

The SLR McLaren Roadster is a 2-seat rear-wheel drive super car powered by one of the world's most powerful V8s: it's a 5.5-litre supercharged V8 that outputs more than 450 kilowatts of power (600hp) which ensures the car a top speed of beyond 300km/h. 

Using a 5-speed AMG Speedshift R automatic transmission, the SLR is faithful to its namesake: Super-Leicht Rennsport (translation: super-light racing). It can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in just 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 322km/h (201mph). Though slightly slower than the coupe version, which tops out at 334km/h (207 mph), it is nevertheless a super car in every sense.

The engine was developed by Mercedes AMG (while most everything else is McLaren tooled) and outputs an Earth-shaking 460kW (626hp) @ 6500rpm. Torque levels are equally shocking: 780Nm @ 3250rpm.

In order to slow the car down, the convertible SLR McLaren has a high-performance carbon-ceramic brake disc system, which is ideal for track use due to its low-fade durability. Mercedes-Benz has not yet released the Roadster's weight, but the coupe is 1768kg (3897 lb) and it's likely that the drop top will be slightly heavier than this.

Like the original SLR McLaren, the new Roadster's aerodynamics were tested in the wind tunnel and likewise employ the adjustable rear spoiler, or 'airbrake' to improve high speed stability. There's also a diffuser in the rear apron to provide increased downforce on the rear axle when speeds increase, and being a joint Mercedes-Benz vehicle, the car places a priority on safety.

In addition to the unique carbon-fibre body elements, the car gets steel-reinforced A-pillars and two fixed roll-over bars to provide high levels of roll over safety, and things like adaptive head, knee and side airbags augment the safety package.

Like all super cars, the seats are a work of art, featuring semi-aniline-leather-upholstered carbon-fibre bucket seats with a high degree of adjustability. A high-quality BOSE sound system makes the grade, as does dual-zone automatic air-conditioning, a navigation system with integral radio and CD player and a multifunction sports steering wheel with F1-inspired gear-change paddles.

Roof Mechanism

Mercedes-Benz explains that the newly developed carbon fibre roof material, available in three different colours, improves both the vehicle's weather protection and general security, and with it's highly developed aero acoustics, conversation is allegedly still very possible at more than 200km/h with the roof down. Unlike a lot of modern convertibles however, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster uses a semi-automatic system. In other words, one-touch operation is out of the question. 

According to Mercedes the roof opens and closes 'semi-automatically' in less than ten seconds and this is achieved by working latches found on the windscreen frame and pushing the roof up by hand, which initialises electric motors that take over and fold the roof away electrically. 

The impressive new Mercedes-Benz SLR Roadster will be one of the fastest and most desirable convertibles in the world when it comes in September 2007. Like the coupe, the new SLR is produced at McLaren's Formula 1 factory in Woking, England.

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