July 9, 2008

SLR MCLAREN SPEEDSTER



The SLR McLaren has always been controversial. Being a McLaren, some expected a hard-edged "racecar" experience ... being a Mercedes, others expected a luxury car. The end result was an extremely capable long-distance cruiser (that, in its heart of hearts, was really a dragster). To satisfy some of the more hard-edged enthusiasts, Mercedes OK'd the SLR McLaren 722 and SLR McLaren 722GT special editions, along with a luxurious ragtop model.

As exciting as the SLR was (and is!) it has reached the end of its production run ... and, as a sendoff, Mercedes and McLaren are producing 75 ultra-hardcore speedster editions that promise to be the fastest SLRs to date. With no roof, windows, or windscreen, the SLR McLaren speedster promises an exciting drive ... which you can almost get a taste of in the video above.

This is probably not the final shape this car will take - let's get that out of the way first. The ultra-exclusive, ultra-exotic, ultra-lightweight SLR McLaren ultra-speedster that *was* shown to the SLR.Club members at Paul Ricard several weeks ago still hasn't officially been shown to the public.

That said, someone snapped these shots of a development mule undergoing testing, and you can clearly see the "edgier" side vents, front intakes, and updated taillights.