German Car Zone

^With all due respect to my friend Tarek, but mate, you just got pwned... big time!

Martin, as always, respect!

lol, this thread has officially been thread jacked, so I dont think there is any harm in posting this?



Gotta love how that cross bred bastardized SL with the obsolete brakes and gearbox makes the Ferrari look absolutely dumbstruck in a drag race??

Yes the SLR has its flaws just like every other car, but are'nt we being a bit too harsh??



Anyways, back on topic: DBS for me

Ah yes, the absolute gospel "engineered for youtube" SLR vs GTB drag race. I have seen Jo'burg taxi dices that are more scientific. I mean really - a rolling start. In straightline speed tests the standard is to launch from standstill or to measure in-gear acceleration from x to y speed.

I'm not disputing that the SLR with its 780 Nm of torque is slightly quicker in a straightline than a 599 - I just want to see the most objective numbers possible.

I suspect that there are results out there that favour the GTB in certain tests too. But hey, like it's been said this is about DBS vs GTB - someone had to go and stir the pot with the obsolete (and never destined for greatness) SLR.

Ok this has somehow turn into the SLR vs 599 GTB thread, which I am about to join in.

The F599 beats the SLR in terms of drivetrain technology.
The F599 easily beats the SLR in terms of pure driving enjoyment.
The F599 also beats the SLR in terms of chassis technology as well.

However the SLR beast the F599 in terms of the actual body construction. The SLR is the world's 1st production car and I still think it is the only one with a carbon fibre shock absorbing structure (cars like the Enzo and the Porsche CGT has aluminium crash boxes in front of their carbon fibre monocoques), and the car's front cast aluminium engine support+suspension mount is just amazingly complicated. I don't know why the SLR is so dam heavy at the end, but I am sure the bare monocoque of SLR will be lighter than the aluminium space frame in the F599.

The SLR is a big missed opportunity indeed, they should have let the AMG boys design and build the car. The F599 is just pure magic which only Ferrari knows how to create. THe DBS is a very nice car, but the Aston engineers still haven't perfected the car's chassis setup.

Being a few ms slower in a straight line is not a flaw. Brakes catching fire is.

How is that a flaw? Brakes get hot, they get even hotter when you pound on them just doing brake tests. Obviously they got hot enough to ignite the carbon dust around the pads.

Seriously i fail to see why this was considered a BS to u? we all know why the SLR doesn't handle that great!! it's coz of how MB wanted it to be not an edgy GT like 599GTB.In test of the SLR when it first came out all have said it they wished the car was a bit more McLaren and a bit less MB.And don't forget the SLR has luxury and comfort as a MB sedan which is amazing and much appreciated to MB's customers.lastly the 599GTB came three years after the SLR.

If we're talking about GTs, I'd take the DBS in a second. The 599's gearbox may be irritatingly clunky in a test, but when you do actually own it it becomes an eternal headache, especially when you're always stuck in traffic or live in an urban enclave. Long distance travel won't be much of an issue for the gearbox, but then again, I'd definitely prefer a manual over a flappy-paddle anyday.

Having seen the DBS on three different occasions I have to say that it's not all that. The car photographs very well but in real life it just looks like a DB9 with a sports kit, not as breath taking as in pictures. The 599GTB is a much more exciting and exclusive looking car, with special capabilities.

Tarek, I referred to your post as conjecture because, as no known fact is presented, that's what it is.

We don't know anything about how an SLR "may" have handled had McLaren been let off the leash on the SLR. We don't even know what it may have looked like. We know nothing. Anything that is said regarding how an "SLR would've handled had..." is just pure speculation. What we do know is that it handles well. We know it's fast. But then so is an Enzo, Carrera GT, 599 etc. All supercars or GTs in their own right.

We know that McLaren, under the guidance of the pre-eminent Gordan Murray, have the technological wherewithal to produce pinnacle cars. Cars that, in their day, stand head and shoulders above the competition. Witness the McLaren F1 - quite possibly the greatest supercar of all time. Another thing that we know is that the SLR went through a protracted and troubled gestation fraught with internal conflict between Mercedes-Benz and McLaren engineers. The results are starkly apparent and more than a little ironic.

The McLaren SLR will never be called the greatest supercar nor the greatest GT of all time - it has never earned a five star rating from any reputable journalist or automotive publication. It has received negative press in the areas of handling, brakes, steering feel, transmission co-operation and interaction and overall driver enjoyment. Don't take my word for it but do go and read some of the articles out on the web that are available. I'm not making this up - it's been researched and so is not conjecture or speculation.

We don't know what kind of car the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren could've been, instead, we do know what kind of car it is. And sadly, it's not a great supercar (the world has Enzos and CGTs for that) and it's not a great GT either. And therein perhaps lies the SLR's single greatest undoing: it's not the snatchy, grabby sensotronic brakes or the inert, uninspiring driving experience. It's not the tight cabin with cheap plastics or the olde-skool 5 speed torque convertor automatic transmission. No, in my opinion, the SLR fails because it is the most expensive identity crisis of the automotive world - it's neither here nor there...

In contrast, the 599 GTB, is such a spectacularly good GT, that it happens to cut it as an out and out supercar in spite of its original design brief.